GBE-N wins Bronze Award for Armed Forces support

In a statement published on GOV.UK for Armed Forces Day, Great British Energy – Nuclear said it had received the Ministry of Defence's Defence Employer Recognition Scheme Bronze Award. The award recognises employers that support the Armed Forces community, including serving personnel, reservists, veterans and military families. If that sounds like a small workplace update, it helps to pause here. This is also a story about who gets seen as ready to build major public infrastructure, and why skills learned in one form of national service can matter in another.

GBE-N is an arm's length body of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, tasked with helping new nuclear projects move forward in the UK. In its own description, its job is to support new nuclear technologies, back long-term energy security and help the country meet net zero goals. That matters because power stations are not only engineering projects. They are workforce projects too. When ministers talk about energy security or, as the press release puts it, energy sovereignty, they are talking about having more control over how the UK keeps homes, transport and industry running.

Part of GBE-N's work is support for Small Modular Reactors, usually shortened to SMRs. These are smaller nuclear reactors than traditional large plants, designed to be built in a more standardised way. The idea is that a more repeatable design could help future deployment, although the safety bar remains just as high. **What this means:** even 'small' nuclear is not simple. You still need people who can follow rules carefully, manage risk, work across large teams and stay calm when the stakes are high.

That is where veterans and reservists come into the story. GBE-N says many people from the Armed Forces community have experience in tightly regulated settings, complex operations, strong safety cultures and team leadership under pressure. Those are all useful in nuclear work. The point is not that military service and civilian nuclear jobs are the same. They are not. The point is that some habits and responsibilities carry across, and employers can miss that if they look only for a perfect civilian CV.

The move from military service to civilian work can be harder than many people realise. Job titles change, professional networks shift, and skills that are obvious to colleagues in the forces may need translating for a new employer. Families can be adjusting at the same time, especially where reservists or frequent relocations are part of the picture. Rachel Welch, GBE-N's Chief People Officer, framed the issue in the government statement as one of workplace culture as much as recruitment. People do their best work when they feel valued and supported, and that matters if an employer wants veterans, reservists and military families not only to join, but to stay and progress.

Simon Roddy, GBE-N's Chief Executive, made the national case plainly in the GOV.UK statement: the UK's future energy security will depend on people who can deliver difficult programmes safely and well. In other words, reactors, investment plans and policy targets will only get you so far if there are not enough skilled people to do the work. This is why the Bronze Award matters beyond the badge itself. It suggests GBE-N wants to build a route from service into civilian clean-energy work, and to treat that route as part of national capability rather than a side project for the HR team.

GBE-N also says the Bronze Award is a milestone, not the finish line. The bigger test will be what comes next: clear entry routes, fair hiring, support for reservists, and workplaces where military families are not treated as an afterthought. For readers, the wider lesson is simple. If the UK wants secure, lower-carbon electricity and a serious new nuclear programme, we need to pay attention to people as much as hardware. Veterans already have many of the skills the country says it needs; the real question is whether institutions are ready to recognise them.