Sizewell C Communications Industrial

This is a communications role on a major UK nuclear new-build project, focused on the "industrial" side - that is, talking to the supply chain, contractors, trade bodies and the construction/engineering workforce rather than only to the general public. The work involves explaining what the project is building, when work packages are coming up, and how firms and workers can get involved, while keeping thousands of people across a huge construction site and its suppliers informed and on-message. It sits between the project's engineering and procurement teams and the external world of businesses, unions, skills providers and local industry.

Starting salary: £25k–£32k
Live graduate jobs: 1 open now
Main way in: Direct entry into a communications assistant, officer or…
They usually ask for: A degree is usually expected but the subject is flexible

Approximate graduate salary

Typically somewhere around £25,000–£32,000 to start for a graduate-level communications role on a major infrastructure project, though this varies widely by employer, whether you are employed by the client or a contractor, and location. Roles on large energy projects sometimes carry allowances for site-based or remote working locations, which can shift the total package noticeably.

What you'd actually do

Writing and editing supply-chain updates, newsletters and web copy that explain upcoming contract opportunities, procurement timelines and technical work packages in language a small engineering firm can actually act on
Sitting in on briefings from engineering, procurement or construction leads, then turning dense technical material into something usable for external audiences - this often means asking a lot of clarifying questions until you genuinely understand what is being built
Helping organise supply-chain events, 'meet the buyer' days, site visits and trade-show presence, including delegate lists, speaker briefings, exhibition materials and follow-up
Drafting internal communications for the construction workforce and contractor organisations - safety messaging, site access changes, milestone announcements, intranet and digital-signage content

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Preparing briefing notes, Q&A documents and lines-to-take for senior staff speaking to trade press, local business groups or regional government
Monitoring trade and nuclear-sector media and sending round a summary of what is being said about the project and the wider industry
Keeping stakeholder records and distribution lists up to date, and tracking which companies, councils or trade bodies have been contacted about what

How graduates get in

Direct entry into a communications assistant, officer or coordinator post advertised by the project or by one of the large engineering, construction or consultancy organisations working on it - this is the most common route and such posts are usually advertised openly rather than through a scheme
Graduate schemes run by the large civil engineering, energy and infrastructure contractors involved in nuclear new build; some have communications or 'business services' streams, though these are far less common than engineering, quantity surveying and project-management streams
Moving across from a communications agency - public affairs, stakeholder engagement or B2B PR consultancies that hold infrastructure clients often hire graduates and are a well-trodden feeder into in-house infrastructure roles
Internal moves from another function on a major project - people who start in document control, procurement support, community relations or project administration quite often shift into communications once they understand how the project works

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Internships, placements and industrial placement years with energy companies, infrastructure clients or contractors; a placement year on a major project is a strong route because site experience is genuinely hard to acquire otherwise
Apprenticeship or non-graduate entry into communications and marketing support roles, then building up - nuclear and construction employers use apprenticeships heavily, so a degree is not always the only way in

What employers ask for

A degree is usually expected but the subject is flexible - communications, journalism, English, politics, business and marketing are all common, and so are engineering or science degrees for people who want the technical credibility. Employers care more about whether you can write clearly than what you studied
Evidence of writing for real audiences: student journalism, a society newsletter, placement-year comms work, agency internships, a blog with actual substance. A portfolio of two or three pieces matters more than a grade
Grade requirements vary a lot. Some graduate schemes still filter at a 2:1; many direct-entry comms posts on infrastructure projects do not specify a classification and screen on experience instead
Willingness to work on or near a construction site, including site inductions, PPE (personal protective equipment), and sometimes shift or early-start patterns around site events. Roles tied to a specific site usually expect you to be based within commuting distance or to relocate

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Security and vetting: nuclear sites apply background checks and site access controls. Expect identity, employment-history and criminal-record checks; the depth depends on what access the role needs
Professional membership or qualifications are a nice-to-have, not a gate. The CIPR (Chartered Institute of Public Relations) and CIM (Chartered Institute of Marketing) offer qualifications that some employers will fund once you are in post

Skills that matter

Translating technical detail into plain English

Most of the job is taking something an engineer or procurement manager says and making it intelligible to a supplier, a councillor or a site worker without losing accuracy.

Accuracy under scrutiny

Nuclear projects are politically contested and heavily regulated, so a careless claim about timelines, safety or contract value can create a genuine problem rather than just an awkward correction.

Stakeholder mapping and relationship management

You need to know who the trade bodies, chambers of commerce, unions, colleges and tier-one contractors are, and keep track of who has been told what and when.

Event and logistics organisation

Supply-chain days, site visits and exhibitions are a core output of industrial communications and they succeed or fail on unglamorous detail like badges, transport, access passes and speaker briefs.

Basic commercial literacy about construction and procurement

Understanding what a work package, a tier-one contractor, a framework and a pre-qualification questionnaire are is what separates useful comms from generic press-release writing.

Digital content production

Day-to-day output includes web updates, email campaigns, short video and social content, so being comfortable with content management systems, email platforms and simple editing tools saves a lot of time.

Putting these on a CV? We counted which skills 12,914 live graduate adverts ask for, and what to do with the answer — part of our application advice.

Where it leads

Start as a communications assistant, coordinator or officer, mostly producing content and supporting other people's projects, with a fair amount of administration in the mix
Move to communications manager or senior officer, owning a strand of work - supply-chain communications, internal communications for the construction workforce, or a particular stakeholder group - and briefing senior people directly. This commonly takes a few years but depends entirely on project phase and turnover rather than any fixed clock
Specialise in a direction: public affairs and government relations, media handling, internal/employee communications, or supply-chain and skills engagement. Specialising tends to pay better than staying a generalist
Head of communications or communications lead for a workstream or a whole site, managing a small team and a budget
Beyond that, two common destinations: senior corporate affairs roles with energy utilities, contractors or regulators, or moving into consultancy where infrastructure stakeholder experience is in demand. Some people shift sideways into project management, social value or skills-and-employment roles, because the networks overlap heavily. Timelines vary enormously - major projects run for over a decade, so careers can be built on a single scheme or spread across several.

What people get wrong

“It is a press office job, mostly about handling journalists and defending the project against critics.”

The industrial strand is largely business-to-business. Far more of your week goes on supply-chain bulletins, procurement explainers, workforce briefings and events for engineering firms than on media handling, which is often a separate team.

“You need a nuclear, engineering or physics background to be taken seriously.”

Most people in these roles come from humanities and communications backgrounds and learn the technical content on the job. What employers actually test is whether you can ask sensible questions of an engineer and then write accurately about the answer.

“Communications on a big infrastructure project is a creative, campaign-led job.”

A large share of it is process - approvals chains, fact-checking with technical leads, stakeholder records, sign-off from multiple organisations. Content often passes through several reviewers before it goes out, and tolerance for improvisation is low.

“It is a desk job in a corporate office.”

Roles tied to a construction site usually involve site inductions, PPE, visits to temporary offices and compounds, and early starts around shift-change briefings. Being comfortable on an active construction site is part of the job.

Where this varies

The scope of "industrial communications" differs a lot depending on who employs you. If you work directly for the project client, the role leans towards supply-chain engagement, public affairs and reputation. If you work for a tier-one contractor or an engineering consultancy on the same site, it leans towards internal communications, workforce engagement and bid support. Agency-side roles covering the same project are more campaign- and content-focused with less site presence. Team sizes also vary enormously: on a scheme of this scale there may be dedicated specialists for media, community, supply chain and internal comms, whereas on smaller energy projects one person covers everything. Finally, nuclear projects carry security vetting, regulated messaging and intense political scrutiny that you would not meet in most other graduate communications jobs - expect more sign-off and less autonomy over what you publish than in, say, consumer PR.

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General guidance about the role across the UK market, not about any specific employer. Entry routes and requirements vary — always check the individual job advert.