The organisation has a purpose-built Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) accredited scheme in place, which helps staff demonstrate their professional capability in an industry where safety is paramount.
In addition, the framework provides a structure for training and development which promotes a culture of personal growth and interconnectedness among employees.
Being recognised independently as having a certain level of expertise is vitally important. According to Dr Michael Edmondson, Technical Lead, Sellafield and Molten Salt Technologies at National Nuclear Lab, that’s one of the key reasons the organisation sought support from the RSC.
Accreditation journey
Michael, who is the senior coordinator of the RSC scheme at NNL, said: “We’ve had a RSC-accredited scheme in place for many years now. As you would expect, it has evolved over the years as the nuclear industry has changed. This has allowed us to build a solid, purpose-built programme here at the NNL, which benefits us in several ways.
Accreditation is important to us as, by nature, the nuclear industry is highly regulated, so we need to do things right the first time. Safety is our top priority, and we need to ensure all materials and information are secure. So it’s vital that staff are competent, professional, and credible. RSC accreditation helps us to demonstrate all these qualities.
“Having the RSC framework in place boosts the public perception of NNL and its staff. It also gives our employees confidence in knowing that the organisation is serious about investing in staff development. It’s a win-win; the employee has a clear route to chartership which will result in recognition of their professional capability, and the organisation has a scheme in place which supports employees and bolsters its credibility.
“I have been involved with the RSC’s accreditation team for around 15 years and they have always been excellent, approachable, and professional. What is to their credit is they work with us to recognise changes in the business and ensure the scheme evolves and grows with it. We now cover the full range of qualifications and membership categories, from Chartered Chemist (CChem), and Registered Scientist (RSci) to Registered Science Technician (RSciTech).”
Demonstrating industry expertise
Michael says demonstrating competency with technical skills is core to why the RSC scheme is in place at the NNL. He said:
Our chemists carry out cutting-edge science and often handling hazardous materials in radioactive environments. It’s vital they understand the chemistry behind what they are doing so they can apply the appropriate safety methods. Being able to demonstrate that our staff are working at that level gives the organisation, and anyone working with us, confidence that we have a certain calibre of chemists amongst our ranks and that they can trust our knowledge and expertise.
“In addition, the ability to communicate our work in a way that can be understood in everyday language is important. The nuclear industry is complex, and a lot of the chemistry involved is not something taught in a university course, never mind at the GCSE level. The RSC attributes enable us to work on that communication. It’s not just about having the technical competence to do the work, it’s about being able to translate it – whether that is in a paper to a government department or in a presentation to a group of schools. That’s been another huge benefit of the scheme.”
The Royal Society of Chemistry is dedicated to the advancement of the chemical sciences. Our accreditation scheme gives chemists a fully supported route to industry recognition.
Success in numbers
On the scheme’s success, Michael said: “From my point of view, the RSC framework demonstrates its success by the engagement we get from the people within the organisation. We have around 180 chemical scientists on our scheme, some working towards a qualification and some now mentoring someone else. That’s pretty much every chemist.
Over the last five years we have had around 45 staff become RSC members, 37 achieve a CChem award and over 20 RSci and RSciTech coming through. That alone demonstrates the engagement we get and the value our employees see in the qualifications. It particularly helps us when bidding for work or putting people forward for activities to see that they are working at a certain standard.
Staff development and recruiting new talent
Michael says having accreditation in place has helped strengthen the workforce over the years, by offering a framework which nurtures the skills of its best staff and attracts new industry talent.
He said: “Offering accreditation makes NNL an attractive place to work, particularly for graduates and apprentices, as they can see a clear route to becoming chartered. In terms of employee development, the scheme allows a person to monitor their own progress and flag up if there are areas of weakness, or lack of exposure to a certain attribute so that they can then go and get that experience. That’s important in building a skilled and well-rounded employee. Not only does this benefit the business, but staff also say they really see the value in terms of personal growth.
“We’ve developed a successful mentoring programme which has created a wonderful sense of teamwork and understanding among co-workers. Mentoring benefits mentees as it gives them an opportunity to learn, ask questions and challenge themselves while working closely with a colleague who is able to guide and support. For mentors, there is a great deal to be learned from developing personal and technical skills gained by engaging with someone from a different area in the business. When I appoint mentors as part of our scheme, I always try to pair them with a mentee who works in a different area, so that they get to see a new perspective and broaden their understanding of how the NNL works. That is hugely valuable to the business – countless times these relationships have resulted in a new piece of work being produced, or a new thought process coming to the fore.”
Michael recommends setting up an accredited scheme if organisations are keen to establish a development framework which will benefit staff throughout their professional career. He added:
For anyone that is thinking of getting involved in the RSC, particularly in an accredited programme I think it is a hugely valuable thing to do. It is one of those things that you will get out of it what you put in - you can do the minimum to tick boxes and demonstrate that you have reached a certain competence. Or, if you work with a mentor and progress along with the framework checking your progress against the attributes, you can use it as a vehicle to ensure you’re getting the professional development in each of the key areas that you need. Once you have gained a professional award it will benefit you throughout your career.