Hi Ian! Great question, I will raise this with the Nuclear Technical Network to see if they can help!  #nuclear #Nuclear Power

That would be great. Please let me know what they say.

Hi Andrea. Did you raise this with the Nuclear Technical Network / get a reply?

I have had this before many times trying to move to a different sector.  I once applied for a power station went all through the process to be told we only set people on from other power stations???? total of 3 days holiday down the pot.

I would go on a HV Switching Course 11KV, then from their maybe do some High Voltage Protection courses with safety awareness. 

But on the other hand obsolescence planning etc its across lots of engineering sectors??

Let's be honest, it's hard at any age to change sectors, but the older you are very much the harder it is (probably exponentially harder) as your value as a job seeker inevitably changes from knowledge of the latest technology to long experience of a particular sector. However, a few things that have worked for me and colleagues and friends over the years (not necessarily in nuclear, but in very similar situations):

1. Apply for a more generalist position to get in, and work back to the specialist position. To be blunt, apply for a position you are overqualified for! If you're lucky you will be seen as someone they can develop internally, whilst being low risk as it will be clear you can do the job you are being immediately employed for.
2. Apply to the smallest companies possible. Big organisations will attract the most applicants, so have the most choice, and will also have the most inflexible recruitment processes. Small organisations rely much more on the personal judgement of the recruiting manager.
3. Apply to consultancies that work across several sectors but which service the nuclear sector. They can tender you into contracts as part of a team, pairing your technical experience with another consultant's specific industry experience. Of course make clear in the interview process that you are interested in working in the nuclear sector. 

And just keep watching the job ads and keep applying. You may need to be quite brutally honest with yourself about how your existing experience matches the specs in the job ads, but that doesn't mean there isn't a way in - see specifically point 1 above.

Good luck!

Andy

Thanks Andy. Great advice