A growing market for accelerator personnel in Europe
Reported skills shortages (number of institutes) vs. area of expertise. Click to enlarge. Image credit: TIARA.
The findings are revealing: an overall growth of 18% in personnel is projected over the next 5 years, driven largely by the construction of new facilities on this timescale. However a majority of respondents report difficulties in hiring suitable personnel, most notably engineers, and skills shortages are reported in a number of critical areas.
In 2011 the members of TIARA Work Package 5 “Education & Training” (WP5) conducted a survey of provision of accelerator science training across Europe which revealed some interesting facts (see Accelerating News issue 2). In our follow-on survey we have attempted to gauge the market needs for accelerator-related personnel by surveying major customers: laboratories, universities, companies and medical facilities that design, build or operate accelerators. We assessed the types, numbers, and qualification levels of required personnel, as well as issues of recruitment and skills shortages. The response was outstanding: 70 research institutes and 44 companies from Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom completed the survey, accounting for more than 4500 personnel engaged in accelerator-related activities. The findings are described in full in the Needs for Accelerator Scientists report released recently.
