The skill and availability of Boilermakers are key to the refurbishment of Ontario’s nuclear power plants. That was the consistent message presented at the Boilermaker Nuclear Tripartite Conference hosted by the International Brotherhood of Boilermakesr (IBB) and the Electrical Power Systems Construction Association (EPSCA) on September 12th.

With demand in Ontario growing to over 2,000 Boilermakers by 2020, IVP Joseph Maloney called for a face-to-face meeting with key industry stakeholders including representatives from Bruce Power, Ontario Power Generation (OPG), EPSCA, various contractors and the IBB.

The one-day conference provided attendees the opportunity to discuss regulatory training documents, the overlap of training standards between the ICI and EPSCA sectors, Nuclear Qualified Worker requirements, shift schedules, security clearance protocols, as well as supply and demand data.

The presentations and conference speakers provided a very clear picture of the challenges and opportunities facing the nuclear industry in light of the upcoming multi-year and multi-unit refurbishments. In spite of the conference having a focus on nuclear projects, the attendees were not shy in voicing the need to supply qualified personnel to all Boilermaker projects including those outside of the nuclear sector.

Traditional apprenticeship programs and the extensive use of the IBB’s dispatch and travel card system are the preferred methods of furnishing highly trained and competent Boilermakers to our projects. In addition to these traditionally effective recruitment and supply measures, there will be a need to establish greater recruitment and training capacity in order to adequately prepare for the tremendous number of Boilermaker man-hours that will be realized within the province’s nuclear sector.

Learn more about the Darlington Refurbishment

Learn more about the Bruce Power Life-Extension Program