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Local internship program with Dan Zimmerman expands pathway to high-paying nuclear trades
Summary
County staff and Dan Zimmerman representatives described an internship and apprenticeship pipeline at Surry Power Station that trains local students for nuclear craft jobs; program graduates logged tens of thousands of hours and nearly $800,000 in local wages in recent years, and the county provides small stipends to remove barriers to entry.
Jean Thompson of Dan Zimmerman presented the company's workforce partnership with Surry County, describing an internship-to-apprenticeship pipeline that trains local students for nuclear craft careers.
Thompson said the program began as a job fair and evolved into instructor-led training that improves test pass rates. He described pay ranges for the trades: "Starting out as an unskilled labor... the low end $18 an hour... After a year 1, year 2, you're moving into $20–$30 dollar range... When you become a journeyman, you're moving into the $30 to $50 range," and he added that a journeyman electrician at the power station was earning $56 an hour.
Thompson provided program outcomes: program graduates worked about 28,000 hours at Surry Power Station in 2024 and earned nearly $800,000 in wages; 2025 figures were higher and 2026 was on track to exceed them. He said the internship and upskilling programs target underemployed community members, and Surry County has supported the effort by providing modest stipends so students can afford work boots and safety glasses.
Board members praised the program as a local workforce pipeline. Supervisor Drew said he had participated in the internship and encouraged young people to consider it; Supervisor Seward asked about the share of local residents hired and Thompson said summer internship cohorts are focused on Surry County High School graduates and typically bring in about 16 people per outage.
