SSE’s association with the Armed Forces can be traced back to the pioneers of our hydro projects, the Tunnel Tigers, many of whom were former members of the services themselves. Many years later, our association was further strengthened in 2019, with the signing of the Armed Forces Covenant, where we join over 7,000 employers in offering opportunities to diverse range of potential, highly-skilled, new colleagues.
Since then, we’ve gained Bronze (March 2020), and Silver (July 2021) Armed Forces Employer Recognition for our approach. As you’d expect, we’re now going for Gold! We’re proud to support the UK Armed Forces, Irish Defence Forces, Reservists, and military families we employ in a wide variety of roles across the Group.
Saturday (25 June), Armed Forces Day, gives us a great opportunity to recognise the contribution those colleagues make to powering change. We know that greater diversity leads to greater debate, and ultimately greater delivery as a business, and our Armed/Defence Forces colleagues certainly contribute to that each day.
As part of the occasion, we’re delighted to announce that we’re extending paid leave entitlement from five days, to 10 days, effective 1 July. This enhancement looks to further allow colleagues to continue to support, and play a continued active and valuable role, as part of the wider forces community.
With an expectation that we’ll recruit around 1,000 new colleagues a year for the next three years, being a forces friendly employer means that not only can we support the colleagues we have now, but we can make SSE a great option for a diverse set of individuals in future.
Find out more about how we support our reservist colleagues and about a career with SSE here.