NAW2026: Keely Salter, Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

“I am Keely salter a former apprentice at Nuclear Restoration Services NRS, where I completed a 2-year apprenticeship in radiation protection and health physics monitoring.  

“I chose an apprenticeship in the nuclear sector because of my dad. My dad has been a worker for the nuclear decommissioning sector for the past 9 years and encouraged me to do the same.  

“I started my apprenticeship in September 2022 at the age of 18 as a young woman in a male dominated industry, where I was welcomed warmly and supported well. During my apprenticeship I was mainly site based trained and only spent one month away at college. This hands-on learning of the apprenticeship was ideal for me and its helped me advance my skills by learning from experienced members of my team and site members. 

“I was drawn to the decommissioning industry because of the level of teamwork and skills it demands, decommissioning brings together so many skills such as engineers’ scientists, technicians, and many more to work towards one shared goal. It’s an environment where learning never stops. The decommissioning world is ever evolving and growing. During my apprenticeship I completed many different works with multiple teams on site I worked with our early FED team helping sample out of our active vaults and launch our early Fed project  I also spent six months with our ponds decommissioning team helping get our ponds building ready for care and maintenance by removing all the pipework’s and redundant plant left in the ponds. 

“Since joining the nuclear industry I have had so many amazing opportunities. I not only got the chance to complete my apprenticeship and work on my career and further education, but help others into theirs by helping and supporting other apprentices and graduates and attending schools and colleges in the local communities and talking about who we are and what we do. 

“In March 2025 I became a finalist of the nuclear skills awards 2025 where I went on to win intermediate apprentice of the year and overall, UK Nuclear Apprentice of the Year 2025. This achievement was such a career defining moment where it really showed the hard work you put in in the nuclear industry pays off and is recognised highly.

“Since winning this award I’ve had so many opportunities to network and attend events across the nuclear sector such as this one here and my skills and experience in the industry is growing massively each week. 

“I completed my apprenticeship in June of 2024 where I then took on the role as a plant technician, slightly different to my apprenticeship but still on same team and same skill sets. I am now looking at doing my further education and hopefully progressing my career even further in the industry.”