As Romania pushes to expand its clean energy mix, Nuclearelectrica, the country’s leading nuclear power operator, faces unique hurdles in integrating new talent into its highly technical and regulated environment, according to HR Director Loredana Macaneata.
“The main challenge when someone joins the organization—whether fresh from university or from another industry—is that we operate in an extremely technical and complex field,” Macaneata said at Work Compass HR Conference organized by The Diplomat-Bucharest. “To give you an idea, a control room operator needs seven years of training before they can touch the buttons there.”
Yet, she emphasized that technical hurdles are secondary to cultural adaptation. “The principal challenge isn’t technical—it’s adapting to the organization’s culture,” she noted. “We have a distinct culture where nuclear safety and working in a highly regulated environment are paramount, and adapting to this is essential.”
Macaneata highlighted the elite nature of the nuclear profession, which aids recruitment. “This special culture applies to all nuclear organizations worldwide. The nuclear specialist profession is somewhat elite, which makes our job easier because new colleagues assimilate our culture more readily, aiming for this elite status.”
The company’s mission to produce clean energy also attracts talent. “Our role is to generate clean energy—it’s not just talk; it’s part of Romania’s energy strategy,” she said. “Nuclearelectrica aims to increase clean energy’s share in Romania’s mix from 20% today to 36% by 2030. These are attractive aspects that new colleagues easily assimilate, giving us a strong organizational culture that’s readily adopted.”
To support newcomers, Nuclearelectrica offers robust onboarding. “There’s an induction plan first. We’re a highly regulated zone—no one enters certain nuclear plant areas without completing training stages,” Macaneata explained. “We have mentorship programs. In our industry, many colleagues retire early due to special working conditions. We retain quite a few past retirement ages as mentors for newer or younger colleagues.”
Onboarding lasts about three months, followed by rotations, with the longest program spanning seven years. The company runs its own training center with 100 staff delivering 180,000 training hours annually. “We have many international trainings because Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant uses Canadian technology,” she added. “Our first colleagues—some still with us—were trained by Canadians. New ones attend specialized training worldwide at CANDU technology plants.”
Looking ahead, Nuclearelectrica is preparing for small modular reactors (SMRs), positioning Romania as Europe’s first. “We’re preparing for this new technology with extensive training,” Macaneata said. “At Politehnica University, we’ve brought a control room simulator for these small reactors, so students can train to operate them.”
High-potential employees are selected based on learning agility. “We have well-structured mentorship programs with a clear succession plan. Learning agility is our main criterion for high potential,” she stated. “In nuclear everywhere—and here—continuous learning is essential. Each employee gets at least 100 hours of training annually.”
Safety protocols underscore the industry’s caution. “Things happen with great precaution. In the control room, any action must be stated three times, nothing happens without this three-repetition flow,” Macaneata concluded.