Paducah Site Hosts Local Educators to Inspire Future Workforce

Paducah Site Lead April Ladd guides a tour of educators through the C-300 Central Control Facility during the Educator Externship tour. The facility managed the cylinders inside the former uranium enrichment process buildings during operations at the Paducah Site.

PADUCAH, Ky. — The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management (EM) Paducah Site recently welcomed local educators for the immersive Educator Externship as part of a regional initiative to strengthen the future workforce through community and classroom connections.

The event, held in partnership with the Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce, provided teachers, counselors and school administrators a behind-the-scenes look at the nuclear cleanup mission and the diverse career opportunities supporting it. Participants toured key facilities, engaged with technical experts and learned how EM and its contractors invest in workforce development across western Kentucky.

“By engaging directly with educators, we’re planting seeds for the future,” Paducah Site Lead April Ladd said. “Today’s students are tomorrow’s engineers, scientists and business professionals.”

Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership Engineer Daniel Hatton explains how drones are used at the Paducah Site to conduct land surveys to local educators.

The Paducah Site cleanup mission, conducted in accordance with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, is focused on environmental remediation and deactivating facilities to plan for future site reuse. As EM looks ahead to reindustrialization opportunities, cultivating a skilled local workforce remains a priority.

In the Education Externship, educators learn about technical and trade career pathways supporting EM’s mission, including engineering, construction, environmental science and project controls. The experience equips educators to better advise students on high-demand fields and the education and training needed for them.

“This kind of outreach is key to closing the gap between classroom learning and real-world applications,” Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership (FRNP) Program Manager Myrna Redfield said. “We help educators connect the dots for their students.”

FRNP is the deactivation and remediation contractor at the Paducah Site.

The Educator Externship is one of several initiatives created through a partnership involving EM, site contractors and schools to highlight education, workforce development and community collaborations in the Paducah region.

-Contributor: Dylan Nichols