Drucker: Slovakia Suffers from Shortage of Qualified Workers in Nuclear Energy

Bratislava, 15 December (TASR) - Slovakia suffers from a shortage of qualified workers in the field of nuclear energy and it is therefore necessary to ensure that future experts have somewhere to study, starting at secondary schools and universities, Education, Research, Development and Youth Minister Tomas Drucker (Voice-SD) stated at a press conference on Monday following a roundtable discussion with representatives and rectors of universities and representatives of the nuclear energy sector in Slovakia. "Despite the fact that Slovakia is currently one of the leaders in the field of energy mix and nuclear energy production, like other EU countries, we suffer from a shortage of qualified experts, and we'll face an even greater risk from the shortage of these people and experts if we don't immediately go into full swing or initiate the necessary changes," said Drucker, adding that an action plan to support education, research, and human resources training in the nuclear sector is ready. The action plan contains four basic points. One of them is ensuring the number of university graduates, which, according to the minister, concerns not only nuclear energy, but also the fields of mechanical engineering, chemistry, electrical engineering, construction, and nuclear engineering. Furthermore, the action plan focuses on secondary schools, where so-called centres of excellence are being established. According to him, it is also important to secure other types of employees in industry, technical fields, but also in the area of environmental policy and in pharmaceutical and health-care professions. The final point is to create conditions for successful implementation in terms of infrastructure equipment. am