Tricia Austin has been appointed as Head of Nuclear for Cogent Skills, combining her new role with her current position as Managing Director at the National Skills Academy for Nuclear (NSAN) .

Tricia succeeds Jay Bhart, who joined Cogent on a fixed-term contract in 2024 to deliver a rapidly scaled project management function to support sector delivery of the Nuclear Skills Plan.

The appointment will more closely align two businesses with complementary footprints and portfolios of services, increasing clarity for our customers and boosting skills provision to the UK’s nuclear sector at a time of unprecedented growth.

As part of the Cogent Skills group, NSAN is a trusted partner for workforce development across the nuclear sector. Leveraging strong relationships across the sector, NSAN works collaboratively with industry and their network of providers (Nuclear Training Network) to deliver skills solutions tailored to the industry’s requirements.

Cogent Skills’ CEO, Justine Fosh, said: “I’d like to thank Jay for his leadership and commitment over the past 12 months, and also to warmly welcome Tricia to Cogent.

“As well as bringing significant experience in nuclear skills, Tricia’s leadership of NSAN will spearhead a closer partnership between Cogent and NSAN, which we believe will bring benefits to the whole nuclear sector “

Managing Director of NSAN and Head of Nuclear at Cogent Skills, Tricia Austin said: “I am excited to take on the role of Head of Nuclear at Cogent Skills alongside my role as Managing Director of NSAN. The alignment between Cogent Skills and NSAN presents a unique opportunity to strengthen our collective impact during this exciting period of growth.

“Building on the strong foundations laid by Jay Bhart over the past year, I look forward to advancing our shared vision for supporting workforce development and addressing the skills needs of the industry.”