Petrofac pledges commitment to UK Armed Forces community

Petrofac has pledged its support to the UK Armed Forces community, after becoming the latest organisation to sign the Armed Forces Covenant - an initiative aimed at ensuring those who serve, or have served, in the Armed Forces are treated with fairness and respect.

The Armed Forces Covenant is a promise made by people, communities, and businesses across the UK that pledges they will do all they can to ensure that the Armed Forces community is treated fairly and not at a disadvantage. Petrofac joins more than 2,000 UK organisations that have now signed the Covenant.

Nick Shorten, Chief Operating Officer at Petrofac, visited Brompton Barracks in Kent - the home of the Royal Engineers - to sign the Covenant on Tuesday, 7 September. He was joined by Alex Haynes, Usman Darr, Chet Biliyok and Karen Viechnicki from Petrofac, and was hosted by Brigadier Peter Rowell MBE, Lieutenant Colonel Mark Teeton and Major Gary Allen, from the Royal School of Military Engineering. Nick and the team also presented an overview of Petrofac's broad range of services as a leading energy services provider, as well as the work we're doing in the New Energy market, to the officers and their current students.

As part of the energy transition, there is an opportunity to attract and reskill people from all areas of industry. Petrofac’s objective is to raise awareness of the energy transition and the necessary behaviours needed to support net zero, alongside the provision of training to enable the adoption of relevant digital solutions.

Nick Shorten commented:

“Petrofac recognises the value that the Armed Forces contributes to our business and our communities. Both serving and ex-serving members have the potential to play a vital role in our organisation and our goal to reskill the workforce.

“Here at Petrofac, we are passionate about finding talented individuals, from all industries, to support the shift to a carbon neutral future. Skills and competencies need to be developed to allow us to support projects and services across the range of emerging new energy opportunities and pledging our commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant is a great way to contribute to this objective. We hope to develop a strong relationship with the Armed Forces over time that benefits one another, as well as the future of the energy industry.”

Brigadier Peter Rowell said: “A huge thank you to Petrofac for signing the Armed Forces Covenant.  It is difficult to express just how important it is to our people to feel valued by companies such as yours and it’s a double blessing to create the link between you and the Royal Engineers.

“Your presentation was extremely well received by our students and generated significant interest. Petrofac’s methods to solving infrastructure problems really aligns with how the Professional Engineering Wing seeks to develop their students. Your approach to the energy sector and sustainability is also perfectly in step with the Ministry of Defense’s aspiration to contribute meaningfully to the Net Zero 2050 targets, and any placements with you will educate and inspire our students in this field.”

Petrofac’s commitment to Covenant includes the following pledges:

• Endeavour in our business dealings to uphold the key principles of the Armed Forces Covenant; ensuring no member of the Armed Forces Community should face disadvantage compared to any other citizen
• Recognise the value serving personnel, reservists, veterans, and military families bring to our business and to our country
• Promote the fact that we are an Armed Forces friendly organisation
• Seek to support the employment of veterans
• Recognise the appropriate military skills and qualifications in our recruitment and selection processes
• Strive to support the employment of Service spouses and partners, as well as offering flexibility
• Seek to support our employees who choose to be members of the Reserve forces
• Demonstrate support for National Events