Transfer of critical skills
Succession plans are put in place to ensure nurturing of talent and skills transfer
By their very nature, nuclear reactors and radiopharmaceutical products require specialised expertise.
NTP Radioisotopes is home to one of the most productive and advanced radioisotope manufacturing facilities in the world, and boasts a highly skilled workforce — now numbering over 440 employees, from just 30 people in 1992.
“The local skills and expertise used to operate SAFARI-1 — together with the development, production and distribution of radioisotopes — needs to be preserved and passed on to future generations,” says NTP’S head of talent and transformation Benedicta Sepora.
“Until very recently our knowledge base was dependent on a handful of key individuals — many of them close to retirement age — which presented a business continuity risk for the group. We have put succession plans in place and developed a talent pipeline for all key positions, ensuring that senior specialists mentor incoming talent.”
NTP has also launched a bursary scheme, which offers opportunities for deserving students to gain access to education in related science fields.
The scheme supports two pharmacy degrees and one chemical engineering degree and will be expanded next year to further meet the company’s talent pipeline requirements.
A year-long internship programme focused on nuclear science, chemical and engineering degrees has also proved a significant success and is helping the company build its talent pool.
“Our ultimate goal is to create a sustainable supply of key skills to meet both current and future production needs,” Sepora says.
At the same time, the company is carefully and deliberately growing and supporting the number of women it has in senior positions, and at board level. Both its chair and MD are women — as is half of the group’s board.