Are staffing shortages in Ops limiting your ability to move into a position outside your department?
At our plant, there is a long history of NLOs, ROs, and SROs being kept from moving away from ops. Eventually, these guys take jobs with other utilities to get out of ops. Is this the norm at your plant?
At Sequoyah, we have problems with getting out of OPS and the problem of being able to move up. I am an NLO considering the ILT program, but I know that once I am an RO, I am at a deadend. My management continues to to hire people with no experience into the SRO program, which they fail out, and not allow advancment.
We have had several people apply for jobs outside of OPS and actually get the job offers, before they were mysteriously turned down, or there final interview happened without them.
Not only are personnel shortages limiting Operator's ability to move to other organizations; it is now starting to limit the ability to move up in Operations. We are facing shortages in all positions preventing some who wants to move up to do so. If long term training is involved (license class), people must wait for replacements. If the position for advancement is just a qual card, the candidate can complete the requirements with the possibility of not advancing until more people are available to fill their spot.
Advancement is becoming a problem along with being able to send Operations personnel throughout the plant.
We don't have that much of a problem with people not being allowed to leave Ops. They are usually allowed to move when the manning allows it, especially represented folks.
Our problem is upward mobility within Ops. There are only are a few NLOs who show any interest in becoming ROs. We do not have forced progression. There are two canidates in the current ILT class. The same is true for ROs going for their SRO. Our current ILT class only has one upgrade, the rest are instants. The next class has no upgrades. We actually have had 4 ROs give up their licenses and go back to being NLOs.