Approximately 30,000 people are employed in the nuclear industry in the Northwest, which accounts for some 50% of the UK nuclear skill base. The industry contributes approximately £3.3bn to the GDP of the UK and exports over £650m in goods and services each year.

England's Northwest region has a long and distinguished history in nuclear energy, from the time that Rutherford split the atom at Manchester University in 1919, through to the operation of the world's first commercial nuclear reactor at Calder Hall in Cumbria in the 1950's, to the current day hub of a global nuclear services business.

Major employers include BNFL, Nexia Solutions, British Energy, AMEC NNC Ltd and Urenco Ltd with operational nuclear sites at Sellafield in Cumbria (electricity generation, spent fuel management and recycling, waste management and ecommissioning), Springfields and Heysham in Lancashire (fuel manufacture and electricity generation) and Capenhurst in Cheshire (uranium enrichment).

In recent years major restructuring of the industry has taken place, brought about by the creation of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority which is charged with the decommissioning and clean-up of all the civil nuclear sites in the UK. This is an enormous task that will take many decades to complete at an estimated cost of £72Bn. Whilst this task is now underway the government is also considering options for the long term disposal of nuclear waste and has just completed a review of its energy policy paving the way for the construction of a new generation of modern reactors. A recent report by the Sector Skills Council, Cogent, has estimated the employment demand between now and 2015 could be as high as 11,500. The challenge therefore for the region is to position itself to win new decommissioning business and to react to the changing skills requirements of a new build programme using the capabilities that are already prevalent in the Northwest. The industry restructuring has also led to a more diverse range of companies competing for work. Attention is needed to ensure the R&D investment of these new entrants to the market is maximised within the region.