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 15 years ago, surveys identified up to 13-14 potential sites for nuclear power development.
“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, said 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 under 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 specialties in universities of the Russian Federation. Among them, 80 students were from Ninh Thuan.
EVN has sent a total of 31 students to study nuclear-related specialties and has sent 24 engineers to a cadre training course in Japan. They have 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 or professions, with only a small number currently working at 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 Plants (with a capacity of 2×2,000 MW each), the corresponding human resource requirement would be 2,400 people.
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, researchers at research 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.
At the same time, it is necessary to assess the capacity of research and training institutions inside and outside the industry to implement 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 need to 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
