On January 2, a conference on human resource development in science and technology to serve the nuclear power program was held in Hanoi by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
Conference on Human Resource Development in Science and Technology for the Nuclear Power Program |
According to Mr. Nguyen Hong Dien, Minister of Industry and Trade, Vietnam has favorable conditions for developing nuclear power, and 13-14 potential sites were identified through surveys 15 years ago.
“Previously, when considering just 1-2 plants, we needed several thousand engineers and technicians. If we develop more plants (including for export labor to neighboring countries), the preparation of high-quality human resources and technical personnel becomes extremely important,” said Minister Dien.
However, Mr. Ly Quoc Hung, Director of the Department of Science and Technology, stated that Vietnam currently lacks both the quantity and quality of human resources in nuclear science and technology, especially leading scientists and engineers.
According to the report by the Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN), during the period up to 2017 (before the suspension of the implementation of the Ninh Thuan Nuclear Power Project according to the National Assembly’s Resolution No. 31/2016/NQ-QH), the Ministry of Education and Training sent a total of 429 students to study nuclear-related fields in Russian universities, including 80 students from Ninh Thuan.
EVN sent a total of 31 students to study nuclear-related fields and dispatched 24 engineers to a training course in Japan. They also worked with ROSATOM to develop a detailed training plan for the Ninh Thuan 1 Nuclear Power Project.
Currently, there is no comprehensive review or statistics on the actual situation of the trained human resources mentioned above. However, most of them are working abroad or have switched to other industries, with only a small number currently employed by EVN.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Industry and Trade stated that in the case of re-implementing both Ninh Thuan 1 and Ninh Thuan 2 Nuclear Power Projects (with a capacity of 2×2,000 MW each), the corresponding human resource requirement would be 2,400 personnel.
In addition, the operation of nuclear power plants requires 350 people with master’s and doctoral degrees in nuclear law and regulations, R&D experts, fuel cycle specialists, and more.
There is also a need for human resources in state management, research staff at institutes, and lecturers in educational institutions.
Given this reality, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien requested that relevant agencies urgently predict the demand and scope of professional fields that need training, to be completed in the first quarter of 2025.
Along with that, it is necessary to assess the capacity of research and training institutions inside and outside the industry to carry out human resource training for the development of nuclear power and the nuclear energy ecosystem in Vietnam.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade also proposed that these institutions register with the competent authorities to be assigned training quotas for human resource development through their research and training programs, to be completed by the second quarter of 2025.
Thuy Linh
