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Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
Standards Program
The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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Craig Piercycpiercy@ans.org
For the past few years, I have been conducting a thoroughly unscientific, one-question poll of nuclear utility and supplier CEOs and senior executives: “What keeps you up at night?” The number one answer is—and has been from the beginning—“Workforce.”
The ongoing shortage of skilled labor—welders, pipefitters, electricians, and the like—almost always gets top billing in nuclear workforce discussions. In April 2025, the U.S. had an eye-popping 600,000 unfilled positions in the construction and manufacturing sectors. This consistent supply gap feeds a continuing talent war that has pushed craft wages up 20 percent since the end of the COVID pandemic, straining project budgets and profit margins alike.
Perhaps the most underappreciated gap in the nuclear workforce is professional and business services. It is the second-largest employment category in the nuclear industry, according to the Department of Energy’s 2024 U.S. Energy & Employment Report.
Utility Working Conference and Vendor Technology Expo (UWC 2023)
Scott Morris serves as the Deputy Executive Director for Reactors and Preparedness Programs in the Office of the Executive Director for Operations. He leads the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Offices of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, Nuclear Security and Incident Response, and the NRC’s four regional offices. Mr. Morris previously served as the Regional Administrator in Region IV.
Mr. Morris joined the NRC in 1993. Since joining the NRC, he has served in a number of progressively more responsible positions, including Senior Resident Inspector at two different power reactor facilities in Region I; Executive Technical Assistant, Office of the Executive Director for Operations; and Reactor Security Branch Chief, Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response (NSIR).
Since joining the Senior Executive Service (SES) in 2007, Mr. Morris has served in several senior management positions in NSIR, including Deputy Director for Reactor Security, Division of Security Policy; Deputy Director for Incident Response; and Deputy Director, Division of Preparedness and Response. In May 2014, Mr. Morris was selected as the Director, Division of Inspection and Regional Support, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
Prior to joining the NRC, Mr. Morris served seven years on active duty as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy (Nuclear Submarine program). Mr. Morris received a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Pennsylvania State University and is a graduate of the NRC’s SES Candidate Development Program.
Last modified June 14, 2023, 2:18pm EDT
