Workforce
Bechtel Boosts Role in Nuclear Power Resurgence With New Union Apprenticeship Pact
Chair and CEO Brendan Bechtel said the agreement “ensures apprenticeship programs continue to develop the number of craft professionals needed to supply this growing market.”
Bechtel says its partnership with NABTU helped deliver work on two new AP1000 nuclear reactors at the Plant Vogtle in Waynesboro, Ga. including its Unit 4 pictured here.
Photo courtesy of Bechtel
Global contracting behemoth Bechtel says it has signed a new memorandum of understanding with North America’s Building Trades Unions to advance and modernize apprenticeship programs to develop tens of thousands of craft workers needed to deliver new and advanced nuclear projects at scale.
Amid a global resurgence of nuclear power fueled by decarbonization goals and power demands propelled by data center megaprojects, Bechtel says it will work with the union umbrella group to identify “specialized craft capabilities” required to streamline nuclear construction, collaborate with union training centers on developing curriculum and help expand “pathways into high-skill careers building large reactors and SMRs,” the company said May 5.
“Delivering nuclear power plants requires exceptional craft expertise and a deep commitment to safety and quality,” said Bechtel Chair and CEO Brendan Bechtel, adding that the agreement “ensures apprenticeship programs continue to develop the number of craft professionals needed to supply this growing market.”
Bechtel is serving as the engineering, procurement, and construction contractor for the construction of developer TerraPower’s estimated $4 billion Natrium advanced nuclear power plant in Kemmerer, Wyo., a role it has held since 2020. The 345-MW project will be the first utility-scale advanced reactor plant built in the U.S.
Bechtel broke ground on the project in mid-2024, and it is set to employ about 1,600 workers during construction peak. The contractor and building trades signed a project labor agreement last year for construction of the reactor.
Bechtel says its long-standing partnership with the building trades is reflected in its work on delivering Vogtle Units 3 and 4, the two new AP1000 nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle in Waynesboro, Ga., completed in 2023, although seven years later than originally estimated. The units are the first new nuclear reactors built in the country in more than three decades.
“We’re continuing that work on next-generation technologies like the Natrium Demonstration Project, which represents a new era of nuclear innovation," Bechtel added. "This agreement strengthens our collaboration with [the building trades] and passes on specialized knowledge and skills required to safely deliver these projects.”
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For project owners, Building Trades Association President Sean McGarvey said the agreement “means no labor shortage risk when projects are built under building trades agreements with access to ... a union construction workforce.”
He added, “Workforce availability is not a constraint, and projects can be delivered safely, efficiently, and with certainty.”
Bechtel ranks at No. 20 on ENR’s 2026 Top 500 Design Firm list, with more than $1.2 billion in engineering revenue, and at No. 2 on the latest Top 400 Contractors list, for 2025, with $15.9 billion in reported 2024 revenue. The 2026 Top 400 list will appear in the May 25 print issue of ENR and online several days prior.
