European Nuclear Skills Initiative – towards European Nuclear Skills Academy

The HORIZON-EURATOM-2026-NRT-01-01 call aims to establish a European Nuclear Skills Academy as a response to growing workforce shortages in the nuclear sector. This grant opportunity is part of the Euratom Research and Training Programme and focuses on creating a cohesive, skilled workforce across various levels of nuclear technology and safety. The total funding amount for the initiative is fixed at €1,600,000 and it is structured as a single-stage application process, opening on March 10, 2026, and closing on September 15, 2026.

Eligible applicants must operate within a consortium that includes diverse stakeholders such as research and training organizations, industry participants like nuclear power plant operators and manufacturers, academic institutions, regulatory bodies, professionals in education and human resources, international organizations, and the Joint Research Centre (JRC). While entities from any location can participate, funding eligibility requires establishment in Euratom Member States, Overseas Countries and Territories linked to them, or associated countries like Ukraine and Switzerland.

The initiative aims to fulfill several objectives, including the development of nuclear skills and competencies, educational training across qualifications, nuclear safety, and regulatory capacity building. Specific areas of focus include the training for Small Modular Reactors, radioactive waste management, and nuclear fusion technologies. The project emphasizes the need for coordinated EU action to deliver on nuclear expansion plans by 2050, addressing immediate workforce training needs.

The application process will follow a single evaluation stage, without any preliminary screening or expression-of-interest phase. Proposals will be evaluated based on defined criteria including excellence, impact, and quality. The competitive nature of the selection process suggests low success rates, as only one grant is expected to be awarded.

Participating consortia are encouraged to develop unified frameworks for recognizing and certifying nuclear skills that facilitate the mobility of professionals across EU Member States. This action aims to ensure a resilient and integrated labor market by harmonizing educational standards and professional qualifications in the nuclear sector.

In summary, the call serves as an essential step towards addressing the urgent need for skilled professionals in the nuclear field, with a clear emphasis on collaboration across diverse sectors and regulatory bodies, thereby fostering an integrated approach to workforce capacity in nuclear energy and safety.

The HORIZON-EURATOM-2026-NRT-01-01 call, under the Euratom Research and Training Programme, aims to establish a European Nuclear Skills Academy through EURATOM Coordination and Support Actions (EURATOM-CSA). The call seeks to address the increasing demand for skilled workers across all levels of the nuclear ecosystem, from construction workers and technicians to nuclear engineers, scientists, power plant operators, and regulatory staff. The total budget allocated for this topic is 1,600,000 EUR, and it is expected that around one grant will be awarded. The call follows a single-stage submission process, with the planned opening date on March 10, 2026, and a deadline for submissions on September 15, 2026, at 17:00 Brussels time.

The expected outcomes of the projects funded under this call are to complement and expand the outcomes of HORIZON-EURATOM-2024-NRT-01-02. This includes designing and implementing an action plan for establishing a European Nuclear Skills Academy, which will unify strategic direction and promote standardized curricula across all qualification levels, from vocational to academic. The project should demonstrate recognition of learning outcomes and acquired skills between organizations in different Member States. It also involves launching targeted training programs, building on existing ones, specifically for critical areas such as Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and advanced reactors. This includes building specialized expertise within national regulatory authorities for independent safety assessment of facilities and design concepts, enabling rigorous, efficient licensing, and ensuring rapid deployment and the highest safety standards. Furthermore, the projects should complement existing mobility schemes with targeted actions for the most critical professions, tailored to regulatory and industry needs, generating evidence and good practices that can feed into future, larger-scale mobility and skills initiatives. The European Nuclear Skills Academy should serve as preparation and as a basis for the possible Net Zero Industry Academy, and for other future related initiatives that may follow the review announced in the Communication on the Union for Skills.

The scope of this call builds upon the Skills for Nuclear action and contributes to the expected outcomes specified in topic HORIZON-EURATOM-2024-NRT-01-02. It acknowledges the increasing demand for workers across all levels and sub-sectors of the nuclear ecosystem. The call emphasizes the need for EU action on nuclear skills, as highlighted in recent policy documents such as the Communication on the Nuclear Illustrative Programme PINC, the Net Zero Industry Act, and the Draghi report. These documents underline that delivering Member States’ plans for lifetime extensions and new nuclear build-up to 2050 will require substantial investments and a rapid strengthening of nuclear skills and regulatory staffing across the EU to safely implement nuclear plans.

The Nuclear Skills Strategy planned within the Skills for Nuclear project should be complemented by a European Nuclear Skills Academy for attracting, developing and retaining talent, particularly considering existing installations and plans for new build with both current and emerging technologies. Together, the strategy and the preparatory action for the Academy funded under this topic will inform future EU measures on nuclear skills and will also ensure that the EU nuclear sector is well organised and ready to contribute to the future architecture of EU skills-related actions from the outset. The establishment and implementation of the Academy should be informed, as necessary and appropriate, by the outcomes of the review of existing Skills Academies announced in the Communication on the Union for Skills.

The Academy will serve as an EU umbrella initiative bridging education, research and industry, that builds upon all ongoing EU activities, develops complementary training actions, and offers strategic advice to support future initiatives. It will make use of the European Qualification Framework (EQF), the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) and (micro-)credentials to support harmonisation and recognition of skills acquired in the Academy. It should cover all relevant EQF levels, ranging from 3 to 8, including the Academic (University or equivalent - EQF 6, 7, 8), as well as Vocational Bachelor and Advanced Vocational programmes (Higher VET – EQF, 5, 6, 7), and Upper Secondary programmes (Lower VET - EQF 3, 4). The activities should lead to the development of a unified EU framework for validating and certifying nuclear skills, demonstrating recognition between organisations in different Member States. This framework aims to break down national barriers to facilitate cross-border workforce mobility, thereby ensuring a resilient, integrated labour market.

The action should explore the possibilities of joint activities involving regulatory bodies and plan specific measures when appropriate, as the assessment of advanced reactors will require different expertise that needs to be built up. European safety authorities should have human resources that are appropriately proportionate and tailored to the tasks they are assigned. These human resources are essential for addressing current challenges in the areas of reactor lifetime extension, small modular reactor (SMR) projects, radioactive waste management, and nuclear fusion. These human resources need to enable safety authorities to carry out their missions with the necessary rigour and independence, based on robust scientific data and in accordance with guidelines set by public authorities.

The call emphasizes the importance of synergies and avoiding duplications with the on-going Commission’s support to national nuclear safety regulatory authorities for collaborative and coordinated approaches to emerging challenges in the nuclear sector. It also promotes coordinated action with the training activities financed under the European Instrument for International Nuclear Safety Cooperation, in a spirit of promoting the EU’s strategic leadership on nuclear safety.

The consortium should include a variety of stakeholders from industry, research and training organizations, academia, and professionals in the fields of education and human resources management. Regulatory bodies shall also be represented. The Commission recommends that consortia use the services of the JRC, which may participate in the preparation and submission of the proposal and will bear its own operational and research infrastructure costs.

Regarding admissibility conditions, the proposal page limit for a full application is 30 pages, following the layout described in Part B of the Application Form. Extension of the proposal template by annexes is only allowed to describe specific issues such as financial support to third parties, clinical trials, and calls flagged as security sensitive.

Eligible non-Euratom countries include Ukraine and Switzerland, as they are the only countries associated with the Euratom Programme 2021-2025. The List of Participating Countries in Horizon Europe (including Euratom) should be consulted for up-to-date information.

The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as a member of the consortium selected for funding.

Financial and operational capacity and exclusion will be assessed as described in General Annexes to the Euratom Work Programme 2023-2025, General Conditions, C.

Submission and evaluation processes are detailed in General Annexes to the Euratom Work Programme 2023-2025, General Conditions, E and F, and the Online Manual.

Award criteria, scoring, and thresholds are described in General Annexes to the Euratom Work Programme 2023-2025, General Conditions, D.

The indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement is described in General Annexes to the Euratom Work Programme 2023-2025, General Conditions, F.

Legal and financial set-up of the grants are described in General Annexes to the Euratom Work Programme 2023-2025, General Conditions, G.

Applicants are advised to carefully read all provisions before preparing their application and to consult the Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ and IT Helpdesk for any questions or technical issues.

In summary, this call aims to establish a European Nuclear Skills Academy to address the skills shortage in the nuclear sector by unifying strategic direction, promoting standardized curricula, launching targeted training programs, and complementing existing mobility schemes. It seeks to create a resilient and integrated labor market for nuclear professionals across the EU, ensuring the safe and efficient use of current and future nuclear technologies. The call encourages collaboration between industry, research, training organizations, academia, and regulatory bodies to achieve these goals.

Eligible Applicant Types: The call specifies that the consortium will include a variety of stakeholders from industry, research and training organizations, academia, and professionals in the fields of education and human resources management. Regulatory bodies shall also be represented. The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate.

Funding Type: The funding type is a EURATOM Coordination and Support Action (EURATOM-CSA), with an EURATOM Action Grant Budget-Based [EURATOM-AG].

Consortium Requirement: A consortium of multiple applicants is required. The call explicitly states that "The consortium will include a variety of stakeholders..."

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The call is part of the Euratom Research and Training Programme. Eligible non-Euratom countries include Ukraine and Switzerland for the 2021-2025 period. The List of Participating Countries in Horizon Europe (including Euratom) should be consulted for up-to-date information on associated countries.

Target Sector: The primary target sector is nuclear energy, specifically focusing on skills and competences for the safe use of current and future nuclear technologies. This includes areas like reactor lifetime extension, small modular reactor (SMR) projects, radioactive waste management, and nuclear fusion. It also targets education, training, and human resources management within the nuclear sector.

Mentioned Countries: Ukraine, Switzerland. The call is focused on EU member states and countries associated with the Euratom program.

Project Stage: The project stage is focused on design, implementation, and preparatory actions. It aims to establish a European Nuclear Skills Academy, unify strategic direction, promote standardized curricula, launch targeted training programs, and complement existing mobility schemes. This suggests a stage of development and implementation rather than basic research.

Funding Amount: The budget is EUR 1,600,000. The indicative number of grants is 1.

Application Type: The application type is a single-stage call.

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a grant.

Application Stages: There is one application stage.

Success Rates: There is one grant for the budget, so the success rate is likely to be low, but no specific success rate is mentioned.

Co-funding Requirement: The text does not explicitly mention a co-funding requirement.

Summary:

This opportunity is a EURATOM Coordination and Support Action (CSA) call focused on establishing a European Nuclear Skills Academy. The goal is to address the increasing demand for skilled workers in the nuclear sector by unifying strategic direction, promoting standardized curricula, and launching targeted training programs. The project aims to complement existing mobility schemes and build specialized expertise within national regulatory authorities. A consortium of diverse stakeholders, including industry, research organizations, academia, and regulatory bodies, is required. The funding amount is EUR 1,600,000, and the application process involves a single stage. The project is designed to support the EU's strategic leadership in nuclear safety and promote a resilient, integrated labor market within the nuclear sector. The call specifically targets skills related to reactor lifetime extension, small modular reactors (SMRs), radioactive waste management, and nuclear fusion. The European Nuclear Skills Academy should serve as preparation and as a basis for the possible Net Zero Industry Academy.