Every year we receive tens of thousands of applications for our roles and hire c5,000 people. Of those who aren’t hired, many are rejected at an early stage on the grounds that they won’t meet security and vetting requirements.
As we work on products, services, and infrastructure of national importance we are required by law to ensure that everyone who works for us undergoes the level of National Security Vetting appropriate to their role. This helps us ensure that sensitive information, assets, and equipment do not fall into the wrong hands, thereby protecting our nation, our allies, and our people.
This means that your eligibility for certain roles may be affected by your place of birth, nationality, current or former citizenship, the countries you have travelled to, and any residency you hold or have held.
Levels of Security Clearance (UK)
There are different levels of security clearance, and the type you will need depends on your role. Our team will inform you of what level you will need to obtain before you can join us – with the higher levels of security clearance requiring you to provide more information and, in some cases, an interview. Here is an overview of the application process once we submit you to UKSV.
All our employees as a minimum need to pass a BPSS check, with further levels conducted as necessary. UKSV endeavours to carry out checks on a case-by-case basis – so we can’t give you a definitive guide of who will and who won’t pass these checks. However, you will usually need:
- The right to work in the UK
- To have been resident in the UK for 3 years+
The main levels include (but are not limited to) the below. Click on the links to view current Cabinet Office guidance for applicants:
Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS): Pre-employment screening for access to government assets (residency requirement is 3 years plus).
Security Check (SC): For roles requiring long-term, frequent access to SECRET assets (residency requirement is 5 years plus).
Developed Vetting (DV): For roles requiring frequent access to TOP SECRET assets (residency requirement is 10 years plus).
If you do not have this length of residency e.g. because of a year spent abroad during university or because of overseas military service, this may be able to be mitigated by providing a business case to UKSV. If this applies to you, you will be asked to provide extra evidence, which can include international criminal record checks.
Babcock and Visa Sponsorship
If you know that you do not meet the minimum threshold for roles on the basis of right to work in the UK then we encourage you not to apply. Our job adverts carry the level of security clearance required – so unless the job advert states otherwise, we’ll be unable to sponsor visas or hire candidates who can’t obtain the right level of security clearance.
Already hold clearance?
If you already hold a valid or transferrable SC/DV clearance, please let us know as soon as possible, and we will contact the vetting agency to have your clearance transferred to Babcock.
