The completion projects for the construction and installation of new power units at the Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant will require an additional 9,000 employees and new personnel recruitment, reported the state enterprise "NAEK "Energoatom", citing the company's head, Petro Kotin, on Monday.
"Everything will depend on how quickly we can initiate these large projects. The construction that the Khmelnytskyi NPP plans requires an additional 9,000 people. Therefore, we certainly need to recruit more staff, and we are working on this," he explained during the telethon "Unified News" at the end of last week.
Kotin noted that "Energoatom" has organized collaboration with higher educational institutions in Ukraine to replenish the company's workforce for implementing large projects, where future specialists are trained. NAEC is also implementing programs with all polytechnic universities in Ukraine to finance the best teachers and students.
According to Kotin, the personnel of the nuclear energy generating company has decreased from 35,000 to about 30,000 since the onset of the full-scale war. Among them, nearly a thousand have joined the military to defend Ukraine, while there are also 3,000 individuals who betrayed Ukraine by signing contracts with "Rosatom" and remained at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Additionally, 2,000 people have left Ukraine.
"There are about 5,000 people in Ukraine, all of whom are employed with us, in our other divisions. Therefore, we are retaining these parts of the workforce and are also working on attracting new personnel," Kotin emphasized.
As previously reported, "Energoatom" plans to complete the construction of power units No. 3 and No. 4 with Soviet-designed VVER-1000 reactors at the Khmelnytskyi NPP, as well as potentially implement projects for the construction of power units No. 5 and No. 6 with American Westinghouse reactors.