Human Resource Development in Radiological Security for an International Audience: Lessons from the UK’s Experience

TY - CHAP

T1 - Human Resource Development in Radiological Security for an International Audience: Lessons from the UK’s Experience

AU - Hobbs, Chris

AU - Salisbury, Daniel

AU - Tzinieris, Sarah

PY - 2018/12/7

Y1 - 2018/12/7

N2 - The paper explores the development of radiological security workshops delivered by an industry-academia partnership led by King’s College London and funded by the British government. Training and development courses on radiological security have seen substantial growth in recent years, reflecting an increasing recognition by the international community that radiological materials falling outside regulatory control pose significant safety and security risks. To support human resource development across the nuclear security field, the UK’s Global Threat Reduction Programme (GTRP) has facilitated a series of workshops and other educational activities – bringing together a range of operators, regulators and government agencies. Revisiting workshops held in the UK and Indonesia, this paper discusses the development of a radiological security curriculum and its impact on audiences of diverse organisational and cultural backgrounds. Here it is argued that the theoretical concepts outlined in the IAEA Nuclear Security Series can be most effectively disseminated using pedagogical tools that encourage interaction between instructors and participants to facilitate learning. This has particular resonance when discussing less tangible topics such as security culture. Nevertheless, there remain obstacles in ensuring that radiological security education has a sustainable impact on its target audience. There are also difficulties in convincing stakeholders of the salience of radiological security when national priorities tend to focus on nuclear security. This paper will argue, in view of limited funding available for radiological security education and training, the objective should be to ensure sustainable outcomes through equipping practitioners with sufficient resources to disseminate their own tailored education and training activities over the longer term.

AB - The paper explores the development of radiological security workshops delivered by an industry-academia partnership led by King’s College London and funded by the British government. Training and development courses on radiological security have seen substantial growth in recent years, reflecting an increasing recognition by the international community that radiological materials falling outside regulatory control pose significant safety and security risks. To support human resource development across the nuclear security field, the UK’s Global Threat Reduction Programme (GTRP) has facilitated a series of workshops and other educational activities – bringing together a range of operators, regulators and government agencies. Revisiting workshops held in the UK and Indonesia, this paper discusses the development of a radiological security curriculum and its impact on audiences of diverse organisational and cultural backgrounds. Here it is argued that the theoretical concepts outlined in the IAEA Nuclear Security Series can be most effectively disseminated using pedagogical tools that encourage interaction between instructors and participants to facilitate learning. This has particular resonance when discussing less tangible topics such as security culture. Nevertheless, there remain obstacles in ensuring that radiological security education has a sustainable impact on its target audience. There are also difficulties in convincing stakeholders of the salience of radiological security when national priorities tend to focus on nuclear security. This paper will argue, in view of limited funding available for radiological security education and training, the objective should be to ensure sustainable outcomes through equipping practitioners with sufficient resources to disseminate their own tailored education and training activities over the longer term.

M3 - Conference paper

BT - IAEA International Conference on the Security of Radioactive Material

ER -