ITER staff
Nearing the 1,000 mark
2 Dec 2019
Given the breadth of assignments, schedules, and responsibilities it is impossible to capture a complete snapshot of ITER Organization staff at any given point in time. But on Friday 29 November, many of the 925 people currently employed under direct contract were able to gather in one of the few empty spaces left on the ITER platform for a traditional group picture.
On Friday 29 November, a mild, sunny late autumn day, many of the 925 ITER staff gathered for a spectacular group picture. Photo: Gérard Lesénéchal
The sun was shining, the temperatures were mild for late November, and the backdrop was spectacular.
The men and women standing at the entrance to the construction site represent a staff body that hails from 35 different countries. From the latest published Social Report (2018) we know that the average age is 44; that 54 percent of the ITER men and women hold a Master's or engineering degree; and that close to 20 percent are PhDs. Three out of four ITER staff members are married or in a legal partnership; 72 percent have a least one child. Global turnover in 2018 was 5.9 percent.
The distribution by Member in November 2019 is as follows: China 9.3 percent; Europe 68.3 percent; India 3.2 percent; Japan 3.5 percent; Korea 5.2 percent; Russia 5 percent; and the United States 5.5 percent (figures updated for 2019).
And of course the ITER family is much larger than the staff category alone. At the ITER Organization in France, approximately 500 contractors contribute to the ITER Project along with approximately 150 interim staff, experts, visiting researchers and interns.
ITER Project Associates—a non-staff employment program that permits institutes from the ITER Members to assign employees on technical as well as support activities to the ITER Organization—swell employment statistics by another 157 people (figure as of 30 November 2019).
The last ITER staff photo was taken in 2017.
You can download the 2018 ITER Organization Social Report here.