The cost of the Sizewell C nuclear power-plant in the UK could hit £100 bn according to FT reports1. This sounds like a huge number, which it is. However, it isn’t always as scary as the headline figure would suggest. The UK has been in state of brain-drain in most Engineering sectors for almost 20 years, with nuclear being one of the worst hit industries.
Large infrastructure projects always overrun, a well known fact in Civil Engineering. However, the UK’s prolonged neglect of engineering talent has left us reliant on costly external expertise and inefficient project management, or the as costly job of up-skilling our own Engineers. This trend is evident elsewhere: HS2’s spiralling costs and the descoping of the Birmingham to Manchester leg.
When we allow brain-drain to happen for so long, not only does the Engineering community suffer, but so do all the parts manufactures, builders, supply chains, concrete and steel industry, design houses - the list goes on. When we inevitably need to build large-scale projects, it proves impossible as the UK just doesn’t have the infrastructure anymore. This is why so much expertise is coming from the French group EDF; we simply don’t have the knowledge anymore.
As these industries and skills have been decimated, someone has to pay for their creation once again. Some of this funding is coming from private investment, but all of it is backed by you and I, the taxpayer (and when operational the bill-payer too). The level of funding per household is currently estimated to be £1 per month per household1. Again, that sounds like a lot, but to have a set of world-class nuclear and civil Engineers, plus a thriving construction and supplier industry, I say it is a bargain!
One reason for the heightened level of brain-drain has to be the reforms to university operation. UK Universities need more government funding and to be managed by scholars and academics, not budget holders. The UK still produces world-class graduates, doctors, and research, but are beginning to slip behind. Having a decade-long project (or multi-decade) allows students to see their future mapped out when studying an Engineering or science degree. These students then go on to inspire the next generation - and so on.
Therefore, I propose that our resources should be directed toward funding UK universities and nurturing future engineers, rather than funnelling money into investment firms profiteering from management fees on large-scale projects like Sizewell C. By investing in homegrown talent, we not only keep that expertise for use within the UK but position ourselves to export it globally—strengthening our role as a truly “Great” Britain.
