The American nuclear sector is experiencing a funding surge unlike anything seen in decades.
X-energy has raised $700 million in new funding, bringing total capital raised over the last 13 months to $1.4 billion, with plans for nearly 150 small modular reactors (SMRs) across the US and UK.
Utah has announced plans to deploy up to ten Holtec SMR-300 reactors and build a full-scale nuclear energy ecosystem, positioning itself at the heart of a regional Mountain West nuclear hub.
Meanwhile, Idaho has released an advanced nuclear strategic framework that aims to position the state as a national leader in supply chain development and project deployment.
Yet beneath this wave of investment lies a constraint that billions of dollars cannot fix overnight: the shortage of skilled people needed to design, build, commission and operate these facilities.
The US nuclear workforce is trending older, with 60% of workers between the ages of 30 and 54, and 23% fewer workers under the age of 30 compared to the overall energy workforce.
At the same time, projections suggest the power industry may need to fill more than 510,000 new jobs in the US by 2030 to satisfy surging electricity demand, with labour shortages already cited as the largest contributor to project delays.
For the nuclear renaissance to move beyond announcements and into operation, the people and skills challenge must be treated as a strategic priority, not an afterthought.
The New Wave of US Nuclear and SMR Investment
Advanced nuclear and SMR projects are moving rapidly from concept to contract, driven in large part by soaring power demand from artificial intelligence, data centres and industrial electrification.
X-energy’s recent $700 million Series D round reflects investor confidence in the commercial viability of SMRs, particularly for pairing with hyperscale data centres and industrial facilities.
The company has announced plans for 144 Xe-100 reactors totalling over 11 gigawatts, including partnerships with Amazon, Dow Chemical and Centrica, with the first deployment expected at Dow’s Seadrift operations in Texas.
Regional strategies are taking shape across the Mountain West.
Utah’s announcement to deploy up to ten Holtec SMR-300 reactors represents the state’s ambition to create a complete nuclear ecosystem, including advanced manufacturing, reactor deployment and workforce development.
This initiative is part of a broader tri-state collaboration with Idaho and Wyoming, putting Utah at the heart of a regional SMR supply chain and training hub.
Idaho has reinforced this momentum with a strategic framework that highlights the state’s world-class nuclear research capabilities at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), existing supply chain infrastructure, and educational partnerships designed to build a strong workforce pipeline.
Beyond the Mountain West, Holtec is finalising plans for up to 4 gigawatts of SMR-300 capacity to be deployed across North America in the 2030s, beginning with a project at the Palisades nuclear plant site in Michigan.
The company is working in partnership with Hyundai Engineering and Construction, leveraging existing nuclear infrastructure and personnel at Palisades to create operational efficiencies.
Meanwhile, companies like Aalo Atomics are developing modular nuclear power plants specifically designed for data centres, with a 10-megawatt demonstration reactor project underway at INL targeting first criticality in 2026.
All of this investment, ambition and infrastructure planning depends on one critical resource: experienced people who can turn blueprints into operating plants.
Without licensed operators, senior technicians, commissioning engineers, safety specialists and outage managers, these multi-billion-dollar projects risk becoming another round of unfulfilled promises rather than clean, reliable baseload power.
The Nuclear Workforce Is Trending Older and Demand Is Accelerating
The US nuclear workforce continues to grow, but the demographic trends reveal a looming crisis.
According to the US Department of Energy, nuclear energy has 23% fewer workers under the age of 30 than the overall energy workforce, a shift from the previous year when the proportion of younger employees in nuclear was on par with other sectors.
The majority of the nuclear workforce (60%) is concentrated in the 30-54 age bracket, higher than both the wider energy workforce and the national average, and employers are reporting increasing difficulties in hiring qualified personnel.
The pipeline of nuclear engineers entering the workforce is not keeping pace with projected demand.
The annual need is estimated at 3,200 to 4,800 new nuclear engineers, yet many educational programmes lack the specialised training required in areas such as reactor physics, thermal hydraulics and radiation protection.
If the US is to meet projections suggesting nuclear capacity could account for 10% to 15% of the global energy mix by 2050, the workforce will need to at least double or triple, yet the number of nuclear engineering graduates has been declining.
These nuclear-specific challenges sit within a broader crisis across the power sector.
Goldman Sachs Research estimates that the US will need to fill around 510,000 new jobs by 2030 to satisfy the demand for additional power generation, transmission and distribution capacity, driven by industrial growth, electrification and data centre expansion.
Labour shortages are already the largest contributor to project delays according to industry surveys, and the energy sector is experiencing constraints that threaten the pace at which new capacity can be deployed.
The skills gap extends far beyond graduate-level nuclear engineers.
The real constraint is in the experienced mid-career and senior professionals who can manage complex projects, commission new facilities, lead outage teams, oversee high-hazard maintenance, and ensure regulatory compliance. These roles require years of hands-on experience, industry-specific certifications, and deep operational knowledge that cannot be created through university programmes alone.
Without this layer of experienced talent, the advanced nuclear buildout will face delays, cost overruns and operational risks that no amount of capital investment can mitigate.
States Are Racing to Build Ecosystems But Talent Plans Lag Behind
The ambition to create full-scale nuclear ecosystems is clear in the strategies being developed across the Mountain West.
Utah’s partnership with Holtec and Hi Tech Solutions includes collaboration on workforce training to support new nuclear deployment in the region, with plans for a western manufacturing location for SMR-300 reactors and a permanent regional hub for training workers.
The goal is not simply to deploy reactors, but to build an entire nuclear ecosystem encompassing engineering, procurement, construction delivery, component manufacturing and workforce development.
Idaho’s advanced nuclear strategic framework places similar emphasis on workforce development, highlighting the role of Idaho National Laboratory, the Idaho Advanced Energy Consortium, and the state’s universities in advancing technology development, supply chain readiness and workforce training.
Idaho Falls already has the highest metropolitan location quotient for nuclear engineers in the country, and INL’s plans to hire 2,200 employees by 2024 to support nuclear projects demonstrate the scale of workforce mobilisation required.
Deloitte’s analysis of state-led advanced nuclear strategies emphasises that states will need to train thousands of workers to support the construction and operations of advanced nuclear plants, yet many state frameworks remain aspirational rather than operational.
The gap between high-level policy documents and concrete local pipelines of licensed operators, senior technicians, safety specialists and project managers is significant.
Training programmes and educational partnerships take years to deliver job-ready talent, yet project timelines are being compressed by political pressure, investor expectations and grid reliability concerns. Supply chains are not yet aligned with the pace of project announcements, and there is a risk that workforce development becomes the critical path item that determines whether these regional ecosystems succeed or stall.
States that move early to establish structured training routes, align industry and educational institutions, and actively recruit experienced talent from adjacent sectors will have a competitive advantage in attracting projects and investment.
Where Will the People Come From
If the nuclear sector cannot rely solely on traditional nuclear engineering graduates, the solution must involve drawing talent from adjacent industries and creating structured pathways to upskill and transition experienced professionals.
Workers from conventional power generation, oil and gas, defence, large capital projects, grid and transmission, and high-hazard industrial environments bring transferable skills that are directly applicable to nuclear operations. Control room operators from combined-cycle gas plants, high-voltage engineers from transmission projects, outage managers from coal or biomass facilities, and project schedulers from offshore oil and gas all possess core competencies that can be adapted to nuclear-specific requirements with targeted training and mentorship.
The challenge is to identify these transferable skills systematically and create clear pathways for cross-sector talent to gain nuclear-specific qualifications, security clearances and operational experience.
This requires collaboration between operators, regulators, training providers and specialist recruiters who understand both the source industries and the destination roles. Rather than competing solely for a limited pool of nuclear-experienced candidates, forward-thinking operators are building talent pipelines that prioritise potential, adaptability and transferable expertise alongside traditional nuclear credentials.
Structured early careers routes and apprenticeships offer another critical lever.
Relying on a small cohort of nuclear engineering graduates is insufficient when the demand spans craft roles, technicians, operators, engineers, project managers and safety specialists. Apprenticeship programmes that combine classroom learning, simulation training and on-site experience can create a steady flow of qualified personnel across multiple skill levels.
These programmes also help to make nuclear more attractive to younger and more diverse talent by providing clear career progression, competitive pay, and the opportunity to work on cutting-edge technology that directly contributes to decarbonisation goals.
Digital tools, automation and new operating models can help to mitigate workforce constraints by enabling smaller teams to operate more efficiently and safely.
Knowledge management systems, digital twins, remote monitoring, and advanced diagnostics reduce reliance on scarce expertise and allow experienced personnel to oversee multiple sites or support less experienced teams remotely.
However, technology is an enabler, not a substitute for skilled people.
The most sophisticated digital tools still require knowledgeable operators, maintainers and decision-makers who understand the underlying systems and can respond effectively when conditions deviate from the norm.
What This Means for Hiring Managers and Talent Leaders
For US-based hiring managers and talent leaders working on nuclear and SMR projects, workforce planning must be elevated to a strategic priority from the earliest stages of project development.
Waiting until final investment decision or licence approval to begin serious talent acquisition is too late.
The following actions can help mitigate workforce risks and position projects for successful delivery:
Audit critical roles early in the project lifecycle
Identify single points of failure in your current team and map the skills, certifications and experience levels required for each phase of the project, from design and licensing through construction, commissioning, operations and eventual decommissioning.
Understand where your talent gaps are most acute and which roles will be hardest to fill in a competitive market.
Map transferable skills from adjacent sectors
Expand your talent search beyond traditional nuclear backgrounds and identify candidates from conventional power, oil and gas, defence, large infrastructure projects and high-hazard industries who possess core competencies that can be adapted to nuclear-specific requirements.
Clarify where you can provide training, mentorship and on-the-job experience to bridge the gap between adjacent sector experience and nuclear qualifications.
Build partnerships well before key project milestones
Establish relationships with specialist recruiters, local colleges, technical training providers and regional workforce development organisations early in the project timeline, not just when you are ready to hire.
These partnerships take time to yield results, and early engagement allows you to influence curriculum development, support apprenticeship programmes, and create talent pipelines aligned with your project needs rather than competing for scarce talent at the last minute.
These steps require investment, collaboration and long-term thinking, but they are essential to de-risking project delivery in an environment where skilled labour is the constraint that determines whether ambitious nuclear plans become operational reality or costly delays.
How Astute Can Help
Astute is a specialist recruitment consultancy with deep expertise across power generation, nuclear and advanced nuclear, and renewables.
With a growing presence in the US market and a strong track record in the UK, Astute understands the full lifecycle of nuclear projects, from early-stage development and engineering through construction, commissioning, operations, outages and decommissioning.
This end-to-end perspective allows Astute to support clients not only with immediate hiring needs but also with strategic workforce planning that anticipates future requirements and builds resilient talent pipelines.
Astute’s expertise in identifying and attracting cross-sector talent is particularly relevant in the current environment.
The ability to recognise transferable skills, assess candidates’ potential to transition into nuclear roles, and connect clients with experienced professionals from adjacent industries provides a competitive advantage when traditional nuclear talent pools are constrained.
Whether you need licensed operators, senior maintenance technicians, commissioning engineers, project managers, safety specialists or leadership roles, Astute can support both tactical placements and long-term talent strategy.
If you are planning or scaling up nuclear or SMR projects in North America and want to talk honestly about workforce strategy, get in touch with Astute’s US team to start the conversation.
Looking Ahead
The advanced nuclear sector in the United States will not fail because of technology, regulation or capital availability.
It will succeed or fail based on whether the industry can attract, train and retain the right people, at the right time, in the right places.
The billions of dollars now flowing into SMRs, the regional ecosystems being planned across the Mountain West, and the commitments from hyperscalers and industrial giants all depend on a workforce that is currently ageing, stretched and insufficient to meet projected demand.
The time to treat workforce as a strategic pillar of nuclear project planning is now, not in the months before first fuel load or commercial operation.
States, developers, operators and investors who move early to build talent pipelines, support training infrastructure, and partner with specialists who understand both the projects and the labour market will be the ones who deliver on their promises.
Those who treat people as a transactional input to be secured at the last minute will face delays, cost overruns and operational risks that undermine even the most promising projects.
