Africa’s Nuclear Plans Lack the People to Run Them, Ghana Warns
Ghana · ENERGY
Key Facts
- Workforce warning Ghana’s Atomic Energy Commission warned on 19 August 2026 that Africa’s nuclear plans face significant delays without urgent investment in skilled professionals.
- Global hiring crisis 46 percent of surveyed nuclear companies worldwide report difficulties in hiring, and 25 percent of the global nuclear workforce is over age 55.
- Africa pipeline The Nuclear Business Platform estimates Africa could add up to 15,000 megawatts of nuclear capacity by 2035, backed by an investment pipeline of about US$105 billion.
- Ghana timeline Ghana is in Phase Two of the International Atomic Energy Agency Milestone Approach and aims to commission its first nuclear power plant around 2030.
- Brain drain Ghana’s nuclear programme faces a high attrition rate of trained scientists seeking better pay abroad, according to a Graphic Online report from 26 October 2024.
- US training hub A NuScale Energy Exploration Centre has been inaugurated at Ghana’s School of Nuclear and Allied Sciences with US funding, designed as a regional training hub.
Africa’s nuclear ambitions face a critical nuclear workforce shortage that could stall projects across the continent, according to Ghana’s Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC). The warning, issued on 19 August 2026, puts human capital ahead of technology and finance as the decisive risk to Africa’s nuclear future.
GAEC sounds the alarm on nuclear workforce shortage
Prof. Abdulai Baba Salifu, Governing Board Chair of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, has called the shortage of skilled workers “one of the biggest systemic risks” to Africa’s emerging nuclear programmes. He argues that human capital, more than reactor technology or finance, will determine whether Africa’s nuclear ambitions succeed or stall.
The warning draws on data from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which treats human resource development as one of 19 essential nuclear infrastructure pillars under its Milestone Approach. The global picture is stark: 46 percent of surveyed nuclear companies report hiring difficulties, and 25 percent of the global nuclear workforce is over age 55.
Technical and vocational shortages are projected to be 35 percent higher by 2030 than today. For Africa, the challenge is compounded by brain drain, as locally trained nuclear scientists and engineers are pulled abroad by higher pay and better career prospects.
Ghana positions itself as a nuclear training hub
Ghana has been exploring nuclear power since the 1960s, but only began systematically developing nuclear infrastructure in 2015 using the IAEA Milestone framework. The country is now in Phase Two of that approach, when major decisions on technology vendors, financing, regulation and workforce readiness must be taken before any construction.
On 10 August 2026, Accra was announced as host of a US-Africa Nuclear Summit themed “Building and Sustaining Africa’s Nuclear Workforce”. The summit is expected to bring senior officials from the IAEA, the US Department of Energy, and African energy ministries, regulators and universities.
Dr Archibold Buah-Kwofie, Director of the Nuclear Power Institute at GAEC, underscored the workforce emphasis: “You can have every technology available, but if you don’t have the human resource that can adequately use that technology, then it is as good as having nothing.” The summit reflects a wider strategy to make Ghana a regional training hub for nuclear skills.
Attrition and brain drain threaten Ghana’s own pipeline
GAEC’s ability to lead Africa’s workforce development is constrained by attrition, poor remuneration and limited government funding. A Graphic Online report from 26 October 2024 found that Ghana’s nuclear programme is “in danger” because of a high attrition rate of trained scientists seeking greener pastures abroad.
Many scientists trained at the School of Nuclear and Allied Sciences (SNAS) under GAEC are unable to secure employment because of lack of financial clearance from government. A pattern has emerged where PhD scholars sent to the United States do not return to serve Ghana, intensifying brain drain.
GAEC has responded with retention initiatives. In 2026, the Commission broke ground on a 48-unit residential apartment complex for staff, the first major expansion of housing since the 1960s Ghana Nuclear Reactor Project. GAEC Director-General Prof. Samuel B. Dampare linked the project directly to the need to attract, motivate, house and retain specialised scientific and technical staff.
A US$105 billion pipeline at risk
The Nuclear Business Platform (NBP) estimates that Africa could add up to 15,000 megawatts of nuclear capacity by 2035, supported by an investment pipeline of about US$105 billion. NBP describes the workforce gap as the single greatest systemic risk to delivering every megawatt in that pipeline.
Egypt currently has the most advanced new nuclear project on the continent. The El Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant is a US$30 billion project being built by Russia’s Rosatom, with four reactors and combined capacity of 4.8 gigawatts expected to supply around 10 percent of Egypt’s electricity once operational.
South Africa remains the only African state with an operational commercial nuclear plant at Koeberg. The government is advancing plans to procure about 2,500 megawatts of new nuclear capacity, but Necsa CEO Loyiso Tyabashe warned in September 2025 that South Africa’s nuclear skills have been going to different parts of the world because no new domestic programmes came through for years.
Great-power competition shapes the nuclear workforce race
The United States is using civil nuclear cooperation and workforce development as a core diplomatic tool in Africa. Under the US-led FIRST Initiative, Ghana is developing a full-scope nuclear simulator and establishing a welding certification programme to strengthen technical skills among engineers and regulators.
A NuScale Energy Exploration Centre has been inaugurated at Ghana’s School of Nuclear and Allied Sciences with US funding and technical support. The centre provides small modular reactor simulator-based operational training, designed as a regional training hub for professionals across Africa.
Russia’s Rosatom offers integrated packages that include financing, construction, fuel, waste management and training. In Egypt, the El Dabaa project includes commitments to support workforce development and domestic supply chains, giving Russia enduring technical and political leverage. The competition is therefore not only over which reactors are built, but whose standards, curricula and simulators define Africa’s nuclear skill base.
What to watch next in Africa’s nuclear push
The Accra summit on building and sustaining Africa’s nuclear workforce will be a key moment to watch. It is expected to bring together IAEA officials, US Department of Energy representatives, and African energy ministries to address the human capital bottleneck directly.
NBP recommends that African ministries deepen ties with experienced countries like South Korea and Canada via student exchanges, expert visits and co-developed curricula. It also suggests linking scholarships to guaranteed careers, emulating the United Arab Emirates model where scholarship recipients move seamlessly from study to certification to staffing within national nuclear programmes.
For investors and policymakers, the message is clear: Africa’s nuclear pipeline of US$105 billion and 15,000 megawatts by 2035 will only materialise if the continent can train, employ and retain the specialised workforce required. The great-power contest over Africa’s nuclear future is increasingly being fought in classrooms, simulators and training institutes, not just reactor sites. This dynamic fits squarely within the broader scramble for African infrastructure and influence covered in Africa: The New Scramble.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Africa facing a nuclear workforce shortage?
Africa lacks enough trained nuclear scientists, engineers and technicians, and many who are trained leave for higher pay abroad. The Ghana Atomic Energy Commission calls this brain drain one of the biggest systemic risks to Africa’s nuclear plans.
How much nuclear capacity could Africa add by 2035?
The Nuclear Business Platform estimates Africa could add up to 15,000 megawatts of nuclear capacity by 2035, backed by an investment pipeline of about US$105 billion.
What is Ghana doing to address its nuclear skills gap?
Ghana has opened a NuScale Energy Exploration Centre with US support, broken ground on staff housing, and is hosting a US-Africa Nuclear Summit focused on building and sustaining Africa’s nuclear workforce.
Connected Coverage
For more on how great-power competition is reshaping Africa’s infrastructure and energy landscape, read Africa: The New Scramble.
Sources
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