What is the Armed Forces Covenant?

The Covenant is a pledge that those who serve or have served in the armed forces, and their families are treated fairly. Ørsted already has many service veterans working on offshore wind, onshore wind and in other businesses across the UK.

Why sign up?

We believe that diversity and inclusion are key to contributing to the continuing success of our UK businesses. We are refining 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 businesses.

Explore our open positions in the UK

Jump to:

Covenant Commitments              Employee case studies               Military transition webinar

  • Promoting the fact that we are an armed forces-friendly organization 
    • publishing our Covenant pledge on the Ørsted web pages.

  • Seeking to support the employment of veterans
    • working with the Career Transition Partnership (CTP), in order to establish a tailored employment pathway for Service leavers;

  • Endeavouring to offer a degree of flexibility in granting leave for Service spouses and partners before, during and after a partner’s deployment through the provisions of Ørsted UK’s leave policy and subject to operational requirements;

  • Seeking to support our employees who choose to be members of the Reserve forces
    • by accommodating their training and deployment where possible in line with Ørsted UK’s leave policy and subject to operational requirements;

  • Committing to regularly review progress against the commitments we have made.

Armed forces employee case studies

watch the film

Ash Hedges, Deputy Operations Manager at Westermost Rough Offshore Wind Farm

"I spent 12 years in the Royal Navy as a Marine Engineer specialising in electrics. My time in the forces gave me the skills and experience to thrive in the renewable industry. Knowing I can make an impact on the environment producing green electricity was important to me, especially having a young family". Watch the film to hear more from Ash Hedges.

Military transition to renewables at Orsted

Paul Hazell, Operations Manager at Hornsea Two Offshore Wind Farm

Veterans at Orsted

Glenn Connell, High Voltage Senior Specialist at Walney Extension Offshore Wind Farm

Glenn joined the RAF as an Aircraft Electrician in 2001 on a nine-year contract with 9 Reserve. He now uses his acquired skills in his role as a High Voltage (HV) senior specialist at Ørsted.
 
“I always wanted to be a pilot but didn’t get the grades, so I joined as an engineer - I now have more than I needed! I did my basic training at RAF Holton and then moved to RAF Cosford where I spent 18 months doing my trade training. I then went to RAF Leeming and worked on the Tornado F3 aircraft. From there, I moved to RAF Coningsby where I worked on the new Eurofighter.”

“[While serving,] I also managed to complete my HNC/HND in electrical and electronic engineering and started my degree – I’ve since finished my degree working at Ørsted. 

After nine years of military service, Glenn left the RAF so he could be at home with his son. However, the transition from a military role to civilian role wasn't too dissimilar: 

“I moved from one engineering role to another with small teams. The major difference is turbines instead of fast jets! I think the RAF is the most relaxed out of all the armed forces, so the transition was easier for me than it might be for others.

“I’ve not found anyone at Ørsted who I couldn’t speak to and ask for advice if I needed anything. There is a family atmosphere here.”
 
Orsted signs Armed Forces Covenant

Stewart Brown, Wind Turbine Technician at Burbo Bank Offshore Wind Farm

Stewart explains why military service qualities and skills transfer well to the offshore wind industry:

"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.”
 

Clean energy careers
Transitioning from the military webinar

Watch RenewableUK’s recorded webinar tackling the challenges around transitioning to a civilian career from the armed forces. Hear from Ørsted’s UK Head of People & Development, Simon Copp, and ex-serviceman Paul Hazell, Operations Manager on Hornsea Two about the various career pathways available in renewable energy.

Watch the webinar here

Flexible working and family friendly benefits

We are an inclusive workplace that not only encourages high performance, but also provides the flexibility for our employees to nurture their well-being