Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) and Aiken Technical College (ATC) celebrated the graduation of the fourth cohort from the SRNS Nuclear Operator Apprenticeship program on Thursday, Dec. 8, after they completed the Nuclear Fundamentals Certificate program at ATC.

Fifteen apprentices participated in the eight-month Nuclear Operator Apprenticeship Program, which provides ATC students a unique learning opportunity by allowing them to simultaneously receive on-the-job training while completing their required classroom work. Students spent two days a week receiving instruction from ATC and two days a week training at the Savannah River Site (SRS). “Our apprenticeship partnerships are a great way to support workforce development efforts. It allows participants to earn a college credential while also gaining relevant, on-the-job experience,” said School of Technical and Continuing Education Dean Steven F. Simmons, Ed.D. “The success of this program has opened the door to exploring ways we can expand to offer similar opportunities for other critical positions at the Savannah River Site.” Apprentices learned the basic qualifications of a production operator, including conduct of operations principles, radiation worker training and qualification and how to perform shift rounds.

All were hired fulltime and have been put to work in areas around the Site. Operator Apprentice Christopher Smith said it was a little hard to go back to school at first. “It’s been about 15 years since I was last in school. They really made it easy, though, by whittling down the information that applies to the job and not adding extra stuff.” Smith continued by saying he was looking forward to work at SRS. “There is opportunity at the Site to grow and do what you want while making money doing it.” The Nuclear Fundamentals Program, created in 2016 in collaboration with SRNS, prepares students for entry-level positions in the nuclear industry. The recent addition of the apprenticeship program pathway further helps to build the workforce pipeline.