Ørsted, the global leader in offshore wind, is delighted to announce its signing of the Armed Forces Covenant which highlights the offshore wind as a “forces-friendly” industry.
As a forces-friendly company, Ørsted will seek to support the employment of veterans by working alongside the Career Transition Partnership (CTP) in order to establish a tailored employment pathway for service leavers.
Ørsted will also offer flexibility in granting leave for service spouses and partners before, during and after a partner’s deployment wherever possible, as well as supporting employees who choose to be members of the Reserve forces.
Ørsted already has many service veterans working on projects both offshore and onshore across the UK and the signing of the Covenant is a way to formalise the company's pledge to ensure that those who serve or have served in the armed forces, and their families are treated with fairness.
Ørsted UK managing director Matthew Wright was joined at the signing ceremony by Commodore David Elford OBE ADC Royal Navy and several ex-services veterans now working at Ørsted.
Matthew Wright, Ørsted UK Managing Director, said: “At Ørsted, we have refined our recruitment processes to ensure that we attract and retain new talent from a wide range of sources, as well as supporting and employing people in the communities where we develop and operate our projects.
“In our experience, service veterans possess many transferable skills and qualities which have led to a successful transition to careers in the offshore wind industry. We are therefore delighted to formalise our pledge of support to those who serve or have served in the armed forces with the signing of this covenant.”
Commodore David Elford OBE ADC Royal Navy, the Naval Regional Commander for eastern England, said: ‘I am extremely grateful to Defence Relationship Management and to the Greater London Reserve Forces and Cadets Association for inviting me along to Ørsted to sign their Armed Forces Covenant. At its heart, the Covenant commits its signatories to do what they can to ensure that members of the Armed Forces (be they regulars, reserves or Cadet Force adult volunteers) and their families are not disadvantaged as a result of their service. For a company such as Ørsted to sign the Covenant and its associated pledges sends an important message (both inside and outside the company) that the armed forces are respected and valued. I have been impressed by the Ørsted veterans and their stories and, on behalf of all three of the Armed Forces, I congratulate and thank the company on taking this initiative.”
Former Royal Navy Engineer Ash Hedges started his Ørsted career as a wind turbine technician and progressed through to Deputy Operations Manager at Ørsted’s Westermost Rough Offshore Wind Farm. Ash said: “I would definitely say my career in renewable energy would not have happened if not for my military beginning. The life skill and experience I have at 34 years old is a credit to my training and the Royal Navy. The experience of working in a high-pressure environment, with huge responsibility and living with your colleague’s day in day out really set me up for my current role.”
Stewart Brown, an Ørsted turbine technician at Burbo Bank, said: “I served in the Royal Engineers for nine years. I think there are a lot of qualities and skills that translate really well to offshore wind industry – discipline, team work, flexibility and integrity. The training in the armed forces is done to a very high level, so employees know that potential candidates are generally a very high standard.”
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