Licensing operators for commercial nuclear power plants

The author discusses activities and initiatives being used by the NRC (US Nuclear Regulatory Commission) to enhance the reliability of its licensing examinations, and build a highly qualified dedicated examiner work force. The NRC utilizes a conservative approach that samples each individual´s knowledge of the important-to-safety job content, evaluates each individual´s skills and diagnostic abilities in an operational setting, and observes the individual´s ability to interact and communicate with other members of his/her shift under emergency conditions. The linchpin of the strategy has been an ultimate reliance on the judgement of the examiner and his/her ability to draw a valid inference about the candidate´s competence from the job content sampled in the NRC examination. The process establishes a conservative setting in which to make an inference on the candidate´s ability to safely operate.<>