At Savannah River Nuclear Solutions’ (SRNS) annual “Signing Day” event, 38 summer interns concluded their 12-week program by signing on to full-service opportunities with the prime contractor at Savannah River Site, according to a press release.
The SRNS Internship Program, which caters to students from two-year technical colleges and four-year universities up to a doctoral level, had 173 interns this year selected from a pool of 4,500 applicants. Of the 173, aside from the 38 offered full-time work, 25 also were awarded apprenticeship opportunities starting Aug. 4.
According to the release, SRNS plans to hire over 2,000 new employees over the next five years. In 2017, an economic impact study said Savannah River Site lost around 900 jobs over five years mainly due to attrition. Then, SRNS and liquid waste contractor Savannah River Remediation said both contractors were looking to partner with local high schools and nearby colleges to involve students more in science, technology, engineering and mathematics activities to further their careers in these fields, with the goal of filling upcoming vacancies and replacing retired workers.
Meanwhile, in 2024 the Government Accountability Office said DOE’s Office of Environmental Management in particular still “continues to be understaffed,” with 263 vacant jobs at fiscal 2023’s end, making up 20% of the office’s available positions.
The National Nuclear Security Administration took over as landlord at Savannah River Oct. 1 from the Environmental Management office. DOE decided to make the change with the site’s cleanup mission gradually winding down in the coming years while the NNSA will be ramping up plutonium pit production at the site near Aiken, S.C.