Apprentice
Apprenticeship£18k
Typical range £16,640–£19,927
Cylfaa · Glan Atom · Atom's Shore
NiwclearNuclear
This is the nuclear home of Cylfaa. It is for employers taking nuclear into a classroom, schools planning careers sessions, and students who want to know what the jobs are really like.
Atom · Atom is the nuclear owl, the last letter of CYLFAA. He lives alone at the water's edge, looking across at a name one letter from his own: Wylfa.
Pack coming this term
Rydych chi yma · You are here
Glan Atom in the village
Glan Atom is one of the ten homes of Cylfaa. Each home is a sector of Welsh work, with its own pack and its own skills gap to close.
- Tŵr Codi Construction
- Melin Ynni Green Energy
- Gweithdy Lunio Manufacturing
- Tŵr Fflach Digital
- Fferm Arad Agriculture & Food
- Glan Atom Nuclear
- Neuadd Mentro Enterprise
- Gardd Lliw Inclusion & Green Skills
- Canolfan Iechyd Health, Care & Safety
- Y Salon Hair, Beauty & Wellbeing
- Cae'r Her Cylfaa Challenge
The skills gap
The gap Atom is closing
Current figures for Wales, and North Wales where they exist. Every number links to where it came from.
3,000jobs on site at peak Wylfa SMR build
More
Estimate, not yet a guarantee: plus about 5,000 more across UK supply chains. Final investment decision expected 2029.
Source: GOV.UK, Jun 2026
£2.5bninitial investment in north-west Wales
More
First phase of the Gwyndod SMR power station on Ynys Môn. A further early works deal of up to £1.1bn is planned from 2028.
Source: Welsh Government written statement on Wylfa…, Nov 2025
120,000people needed in UK nuclear by 2030
More
UK figure (no Welsh breakdown published): up from 96,000 today, so about 24,000 more skilled people in six years.
Where employers are short
- Not enough people for UK nuclear by 2030
UK nuclear needs 120,000 people by 2030, up from 96,000: about 24,000 more skilled staff in six years. No Welsh breakdown is published.
- High-integrity welding and fabrication skills
AMRC says there is a current shortage of construction and fabrication skills, including high-integrity welding and assembly, for Wylfa.
Source: Business News Wales, Dec 2025
- Apprenticeships not yet matched to SMR jobs
A Rolls-Royce SMR-sponsored study found gaps in all current apprenticeship standards and mapped 22 new future job profiles.
- Nuclear health, safety and environment know-how
The same SMR workforce study says nuclear health, safety and environment training is needed across the whole workforce.
- Local firms ready for nuclear quality standards
North Wales aerospace and automotive suppliers will need to upgrade processes to meet nuclear quality and safety standards to win Wylfa work.
Source: Business News Wales, Dec 2025
Jobs and pay
What the jobs pay
Six real roles, from a first apprenticeship to a degree route. Salaries are typical yearly pay, with the usual range.
Nuclear Tech
Green Role£33k
Typical range £24,000–£43,000
How to get in
Welder
Entry Level£35k
Typical range £25,000–£45,000
How to get in
Electrician
Apprenticeship£35k
Typical range £26,000–£45,000
How to get in
Civil Engineer
Degree Route£46k
Typical range £29,000–£63,000
How to get in
Nuclear Engineer
Degree Route£43k
Typical range £28,000–£58,000
How to get in
Welsh pay figures are used where they exist. Cards marked UK-wide or England use national figures because no Welsh breakdown was found. Apprentice pay uses the UK apprentice minimum wage from April 2026 unless an employer's own rate is shown.
Through every Byd
Green and digital in nuclear
Green and digital skills are changing every job in Wales, so every pack has a slide for each, written for this Byd.
Lliw's green path
Atom Is Powering Wales's Clean Future.
Read more
Nuclear makes low-carbon electricity day and night, whatever the weather. Ynys Môn is set to host the UK's first small modular reactors.
- 3mhomes powered by Wylfa's 3 SMRs
Three Rolls-Royce SMRs (1.4GW in total) are planned to make enough electricity for about 3 million homes.
- 60+years of power from one build
The reactors are designed to keep supplying power for more than 60 years. That is a whole career of clean energy.
- Halfoff Trawsfynydd's reactor buildings
Costain is cutting both old reactor buildings by nearly half, shrinking the site's mark on the Eryri landscape.
Source: GOV.UK / NRS, Oct 2026
Fflach's digital spark
Nuclear Runs on Code, Robots and Data.
Read more
New reactors are designed, checked and protected with digital skills. North Wales is also a UK AI Growth Zone, so tech and nuclear grow side by side.
- Robotics Engineer
Robots go where people can't, like inside old reactors. SMR skills research names robotics engineer as a high-impact future role.
- Cyber Defence Specialist
Power stations must be protected from hackers. Cyber operational defence is a priority role for the SMR workforce.
- Control & Instrumentation
Sensors and control systems keep reactors safe. Bangor University's MEng trains students on PLCs and robotic kit.
- North Wales AI Growth Zone
M-SParc, Bangor and Aberystwyth Universities, GLLM and Stena Line are partners. 1,200 jobs are predicted.
Gemau Cylfaa · The Cylfaa Games
Play in Glan Atom
Free games for students, families and classes. Presenters: they make a good last five minutes.
Job ExplorerFlip Atom's job cards in Glan Atom: what the jobs pay and how to get in.Which Owl Are You?Eight questions. Find out which home in Cylfaa is yours.
All the Cylfaa games
Routes in
Four ways in
Real courses and schemes at North Wales colleges, universities and employers.
Apprenticeship
Rolls-Royce SMR's first Wylfa apprentices study Level 3 Engineering at Coleg Menai, Llangefni. Nuclear Restoration Services offers apprenticeships at Trawsfynydd.
College
Coleg Menai's Energy Centre and CIST in Llangefni train for low-carbon energy with partners incl. NRS. GLLM has 15+ years of nuclear skills work.
University Degree
Bangor University's MEng Control and Instrumentation Engineering, plus its Nuclear Futures Institute: reactor physics, nuclear materials and SMR research.
Higher / Degree Apprenticeship
NRS Trawsfynydd ran a Level 4 Project Management apprenticeship (5 GCSEs + Level 3). Nuclear Engineer Level 6 degree apprenticeships also exist.
Employers in this Byd
- Great British Energy – NuclearWylfa, Ynys Môn
- Rolls-Royce SMRWylfa, Ynys Môn
- Nuclear Restoration ServicesWylfa and Trawsfynydd
- CostainTrawsfynydd, Gwynedd
- Grŵp Llandrillo Menai (Coleg Menai)Llangefni, Ynys Môn
- Bangor University Nuclear Futures InstituteBangor, Gwynedd
- M-SParcGaerwen, Ynys Môn
The pack · for employers
Walk into a classroom ready.
The nuclear pack is being built now and is coming this term. This is what will be in it.
What's in the pack
- The full deck with speaker notes · scripted, timed and ready to present
- A clean deck · the same slides without notes, for the screen
- A 25-minute version · for a tight assembly slot or form time
- Printables · role cards, myth busters, guess the salary, and activity sheets for Explorer (Years 7 to 8), Investigator (Years 9 to 10) and Strategist (Years 11 to 12)
- A run sheet and a feedback form · so you know what happens when, and the school can tell you how it went
Built for Welsh classrooms. Mapped to Curriculum for Wales and the Four Purposes, with Gatsby Benchmarks evidenced. Bilingual, Welsh and English. Neurodiverse-friendly by design. From September 2026, careers and work-related experiences are a legal requirement under Curriculum for Wales.
Log each session in Owl Impact® and it becomes verified social value evidence.
Register interest. Be first when it's ready.
Leave your details and we'll tell you the moment the pack is ready.
Cae'r Her · The Cylfaa Challenge: young people solve Wales's skills gaps themselves, and the winning idea gets funded and built for real.
Bring the Challenge to your schoolFor students and parents
Which Byd are you?
Real Welsh jobs in nuclear, what they pay and how to get in. The student pages for every Byd live here.
Explore your futureFamilies: get Atom's alerts
For students and parents. We'll write when there is news about Wylfa jobs, apprenticeships and the Wylfa Skills Challenge.
Sources
Where the figures come from
Every figure on this page comes from one of these. Checked October 2026.
See all sources
- NucNet: Rolls-Royce SMR signs landmark agreement for three reactors at Wylfa · 13 Apr 2026
- ANS Nuclear Newswire: Rolls-Royce, GBE-N contract kickstarts UK SMR plans for Wylfa · 15 Apr 2026
- MônFM: Work begins on Wylfa SMRs · 13 Apr 2026
- GOV.UK: UK SMR programme at Wylfa hitting target for British contracts · 24 Jun 2026
- GOV.UK: Local community names new Wylfa power station (Gwyndod) · 26 Jun 2026
- GBE-N community newsletter Vol III · Jun 2026
- GBE-N community newsletter Vol IV · Sep 2026
- World Nuclear News: UK selects Wylfa to host at least three Rolls-Royce SMRs · 13 Nov 2025
- Welsh Government written statement: Wylfa SMR site and North Wales AI Growth Zone · 13 Nov 2025
- MônFM: Wylfa SMR developers sign council agreement (Isle of Anglesey County Council and GBE-N) · 25 Mar 2026
- Construction News via nuclear-news.net: SMR client lines up £1.1bn Wylfa early works deal · 7 Sep 2026
- Rolls-Royce SMR: Local apprentices to help power the future of nuclear at Wylfa · 11 May 2026
- Grŵp Llandrillo Menai: New Wylfa apprenticeships · May 2026
- Grŵp Llandrillo Menai: GLLM ready to deliver Wylfa training · 13 Nov 2025
- Welsh Government: Skills summit charts path for North Wales jobs · 22 Jan 2026
- GOV.UK / NRS: Trawsfynydd takes next step towards reactor height reduction · 8 Oct 2026
- GOV.UK: Nuclear Restoration Services organisation page · accessed Oct 2026
- Cyngor Gwynedd: Innovation, Business and Skills Centre at Trawsfynydd · 11 Feb 2026
- Find an Apprenticeship Wales: NRS Level 4 Project Management Apprenticeship, Trawsfynydd · closed 20 Mar 2026
- Nuclear Industry Association: 2024 Nuclear Workforce Assessment · 10 Apr 2025
- World Nuclear News: UK sets out plan for boosting nuclear workforce (Nuclear Skills Plan) · 16 May 2024
- Innovate UK Business Connect: Powering the Future, SMR workforce of 2050 · 10 Jul 2025
- Business News Wales: SMRs anchoring North Wales's resilient industrial future (AMRC) · 19 Dec 2025
- Bangor University: Nuclear Futures Institute · accessed Oct 2026
- Bangor University: Nuclear undergraduate study (MEng Control and Instrumentation Engineering) · accessed Oct 2026
- GOV.UK: National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates · April 2026 rates
- National Careers Service job profiles: nuclear engineer, nuclear technician, welder, electrician, civil engineer, mechanical engineer, robotics engineer, health and safety adviser, scaffolder, archaeologist, environmental consultant, quantity surveyor · accessed Oct 2026 (England figures)