Suffolk apprentices given chance to work at Hinkley Point C
Cody Lucas is one of the apprentices to have secured a placement at Hinkley Point C - Credit: www.andrewhendry.com
Suffolk apprentices have shared their experiences of working at Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in preparation for a potential move to Sizewell C.
A number of young people have started their training at the Somerset power station, before being transferred back to Suffolk should plans for the £20bn plant get the go-ahead.
The south-west station has so far trained 756 apprentices to date.
Among those currently working at the plant include project controls apprentice Joshua Wilkins, 21, who said he is "proud" to help build the first new nuclear power station in a generation.
Mr Wilkins, who is in the second year of his three-year apprenticeship, said: "I feel really proud to work in an industry that’s fighting climate change and making a real difference in helping Britain cut its emissions and protect the planet.
"Working in project controls means that I get to combine two of my favourite things – IT and engineering. I keep track of our schedule and the tasks we have to do.
"That’s a pretty big role in a project like this where we are building a new nuclear power station which will make such a big contribution to meeting net zero targets.
Most Read
- 1 Travellers pitch up at popular park in east Suffolk town
- 2 'He'd be dead' - mum's terror after wave drags her and baby down beach
- 3 Police attending 'incident' near town centre
- 4 Andy Angles: Five observations following Town's Carabao Cup exit
- 5 Suffolk villagers say 70 homes development creating 'dust storm'
- 6 How the Ipswich Town players performed in their Colchester loss
- 7 'Quite different to traditional gyms' Suffolk gym with a difference opens
- 8 Keogh: Why I've joined Town and what I'm here to do
- 9 Man bitten by dog during fight in east Suffolk street
- 10 Buy the bread everyone’s raving about at new Suffolk cafe
"We literally have thousands of tasks to complete to deliver the UK's first new nuclear power station in a generation and I am proud to be doing my bit."
Also among those is former East Coast College student Cody Lucas, who secured an apprenticeship with Doosan Babcock after completing his Level 3 welding qualification.
Mr Lucas, who will soon begin working at Hinkley Point C, said: “It is an opportunity of a lifetime to work at Hinkley Point C and then come back home to Suffolk as a qualified welder to work at Sizewell C.
"I was over the moon when I got the phone call to say I got on the apprenticeship.
"I can’t wait to start.”
Terry Baxter, chief executive of Inspire Suffolk, said: “Sizewell C provides a vital lifeline for some of our most vulnerable young people in the region.
"Inspire Suffolk has a long-term partnership with the project and we are already opening doors for young people to gain access to training and new skills to help improve their life chances.
"It is important we get behind the project and ensure we make the most of it for families in Suffolk.”