Urenco enriches uranium so nuclear power plants around the world can generate reliable and abundant carbon free electricity. At our site in Almelo, we are looking to attract best in class operators to help run our state of the art facilities. Because our technology is highly classified, we cannot simply invite everyone into the plant to experience the work environment firsthand.
That is why we want to create an interactive installation or game for the nearby House of Skills: an innovative learning environment where future process engineering students and career changers explore careers in process engineering and food technology. Groups of students visit the House of Skills to discover different career paths, and one of these paths could be becoming a process operator at Urenco.
This challenge is especially important for Urenco because we need a constant pipeline of future operators to replace colleagues who retire over time. Becoming an operator at Urenco also requires significant long term investment, as new hires need to complete additional in house training over multiple years before they are fully prepared for the role. At the same time, process engineering is a field that continues to evolve, which means Urenco needs motivated and capable people who are ready to grow with ongoing technological and operational developments.
The challenge is to design an engaging concept that introduces visitors to the world of process engineering at Urenco in a realistic, educational and inspiring way, without revealing sensitive information. The concept should help students better understand what process operators do, what skills are required, and why working at Urenco is unique and meaningful. Special attention should be given to students following, or considering, the MBO level 3 programme Process and Laboratory Technology, where students begin with a broad foundation and specialise in either Process or Laboratory Technology in their second year.
The desired outcome of this challenge is a specific, realistic and engaging concept for an interactive exhibit or game that helps students discover what it means to work as a process operator at Urenco. The concept should clearly demonstrate what an operator’s job entails, what the role of a process operator looks like in practice, and how nuclear energy contributes to sustainability and the wider energy transition. At the same time, it should bring across the unique context of working at Urenco: by enriching uranium, operators help enable reliable and low carbon electricity generation; safety is always the number one priority because of the low radioactive material involved; working in shifts creates a strong team spirit where colleagues become like family; and the role offers strong long term job security in a field that remains highly relevant and continuously developing.
Urenco is an international company that enriches uranium for use in nuclear power plants. They use a special centrifuge technology to enrich uranium, making it suitable as fuel for nuclear reactors. In addition to energy production, enriched uranium is also used for medical applications, such as cancer treatment. Urenco has plants in the Netherlands (Almelo), Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Urenco's main activity is uranium enrichment, which means that they concentrate uranium to a level suitable for use in nuclear reactors. This enriched uranium is then supplied to nuclear power plants around the world, which use it to generate electricity. Urenco also produces stable isotopes, which are used for medical applications such as diagnostics and therapy.
Urenco is a British-German-Dutch consortium, founded in 1970, that builds on earlier research into ultracentrifuge technology. The company plays an important role in the global energy market and contributes to the production of clean energy. In addition to its industrial activities, Urenco is also involved in local communities, for example by sponsoring sports and cultural activities and supporting educational initiatives.
