SQEP IN NUCLEAR

SQEP Nuclear Training: Suitably Qualified and Experienced Person in the UK Nuclear Sector

Understand what SQEP means in the UK nuclear sector and how 360 Nuclear Skills Training helps employers build compliant, audit-ready workforces and individuals develop the competence to work safely in nuclear.

Introduction

SQEP dictates that only individuals with the right mix of formal qualifications, verified training, and on-the-job experience can execute or authorize specific tasks

Nuclear employers carry a clear and non-negotiable responsibility: the people performing safety-relevant work in your organisation must be suitably qualified and experienced to do it. That is not a guideline. It is a regulatory expectation that the Office for Nuclear Regulation will test, and one that your organisation must be able to evidence at any point.

360 Nuclear Skills Training exists to help you meet that expectation. Our programmes support employers across the nuclear supply chain to build SQEP nuclear-ready workforces, and support individuals to develop the knowledge, qualifications and documented training that underpin credible SQEP competence.

Whether you are a nuclear employer managing workforce compliance, a project professional working in nuclear delivery, or someone transitioning into the sector from an adjacent background, this page explains what SQEP means, why it matters, and how we can help.

The diagram here summarises the SQEP framework at a glance. For the full picture, read on.

What Is a SQEP Qualification in Nuclear?

SQEP stands for Suitably Qualified and Experienced Person, sometimes written as Suitably Qualified and Experienced Personnel when referring to a group. It is not a single standalone qualification, and there is no one certificate that proves SQEP status. It is a competence standard, a judgement made by an organisation about whether a specific person has the training, qualifications and experience to carry out a specific role or task safely and to the required standard.

In practice, an individual is assessed as SQEP through a combination of formal qualifications relevant to the role, demonstrable task-specific experience, knowledge of applicable regulations and safety requirements, and evidence of ongoing competence development.

The concept applies broadly. It is most associated with nuclear safety-critical roles in energy generation and decommissioning, but it extends to managers, designers, safety case authors, project leads, and anyone whose decisions or outputs could affect nuclear safety. In relevant contexts, including nuclear medicine, the same principles apply. If the work touches nuclear safety obligations, the person doing it needs to be SQEP for that task.

SQEP status is not self-declared. It is determined by the organisation, normally through a line manager, technical authority or designated competent assessor, and the organisation must be able to justify that decision if challenged by the regulator.

How Is SQEP Defined in the UK Nuclear Industry?

The UK nuclear regulatory framework requires that people performing safety-relevant duties are competent to do so. That expectation flows through site licence conditions, duty holder obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, the Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017 (IRR17) where applicable, and the overarching oversight of the Office for Nuclear Regulation.

There is no single statutory document that defines SQEP for every role. The definition is set at an operational level by the site licence holder or duty holder, through its nuclear safety arrangements and competence management system; by the employer or principal contractor, through role profiles, competence frameworks and SQEP assessment processes; and by the regulator, whose expectations require organisations to evidence why a person has been deemed SQEP for a particular task.

This matters because SQEP is not just a label, it is an accountability. If the ONR inspects a site and questions whether someone performing a safety-relevant task was appropriately qualified and experienced, the organisation needs to produce evidence: training records, qualifications, experience logs, and a clear assessment trail. Good paperwork is not sufficient on its own. The competence needs to be real, and the evidence needs to support it.

360 Nuclear Skills Training programmes are designed with this framework in mind. Every course we run builds the documented training foundation that underpins credible SQEP assessment.

SQEP Training in UK Nuclear for Employers

For nuclear employers, SQEP compliance is an organisational responsibility, not just an individual one. If your workforce includes people performing nuclear safety-relevant work, you need a credible, auditable competence management system behind them. The ONR does not just inspect the individual; it inspects the system.

360 Nuclear Skills Training supports employers with structured training pathways that address real workforce development needs: onboarding new starters, upskilling existing teams, transitioning talent from adjacent sectors, and building the competence evidence that sits behind a defensible SQEP position.

Not every programme we deliver results in a formal qualification, and not every course carries external accreditation. What every programme does carry is structured, documented, nuclear-contextualised learning delivered by instructors who are themselves SQEP professionals, people whose own qualifications and experience meet the standard they are teaching to. A certificate of completion from a credible, sector-specific programme, properly recorded and relevant to the role, is a legitimate and auditable contribution to any SQEP evidence submission.

For programmes leading to a formal accredited qualification, our Nuclear Projects Fundamentals Skills Bootcamp (PFQ) Level 4 and Project Management for Nuclear (PFQ) Level 4 Accelerated Course both culminate in the APM Project Fundamentals Qualification, a nationally recognised credential respected across the nuclear supply chain.

Across all other programmes, learners complete the course with documented evidence of structured, SQEP-relevant training that can be included in competence files and presented to regulators or auditors with confidence.

One starting point applies to every person entering the sector, regardless of role, background or seniority. Anyone working in or joining the nuclear industry must complete a nuclear induction. It is not optional and it is not role-specific. Whether you are a project manager transitioning from defence, a technician being onboarded at a new site, or a supply chain professional attending a nuclear facility for the first time, a nuclear induction is the baseline. Our Nuclear Induction Course (1 day) is designed precisely for this requirement, giving delegates the regulatory awareness, safety culture grounding and sector-specific context they need from day one.

If you are a nuclear employer looking to develop your workforce, bring in new talent, or strengthen your SQEP arrangements, visit our nuclear training for employers page to find out how we can help.

What Is a SQEP Training Course?

A SQEP training course is any programme that contributes to an individual meeting the competence threshold for a nuclear-relevant role. Because SQEP is role-specific and context-specific, there is no single course that works for every situation. The right programme depends on the person’s existing background, the role they are moving into, and the specific competence gaps that need to be addressed.

360 Nuclear Skills Training offers a range of programmes designed to support SQEP development at different points in a career or workforce development journey. Some carry a formal APM qualification. Others deliver structured nuclear knowledge and professional behaviours without a standalone qualification. All are delivered by nuclear professionals whose own SQEP credentials are verified.

The important point for employers assessing training options is this: a formally accredited generic course from a provider with no nuclear sector experience is not equivalent to a sector-specific programme delivered by SQEP practitioners. What matters to a competent assessor, and to the ONR, is whether the training is relevant, credible and properly documented, not simply whether it carries a badge.

You can explore the full course range on our training courses page.

What Are the Five Nuclear Safety Culture Elements?

Nuclear safety culture is a recurring and important theme in SQEP discussions. The ONR and the wider nuclear industry regard safety culture as fundamental to safe operation. An individual who is technically qualified but does not hold and demonstrate the right safety values is not fully SQEP for any safety-relevant role, and an organisation whose culture does not support those values cannot build a genuinely SQEP-compliant workforce.

The five core elements of nuclear safety culture, as recognised across the UK nuclear industry and aligned with international frameworks including IAEA guidance, are:

Leadership and management commitment to safety

Safety must be visibly and actively prioritised at every level of leadership, not treated as a compliance checkbox

Safety is a clearly recognised value

Everyone working in or around nuclear understands that safety is non-negotiable, shared and personally owned, not just the responsibility of a safety team.

Accountability for safety is clear

Roles, responsibilities and authorities are defined and understood. People know what they are accountable for and can demonstrate it.

Safety is integrated into all activities

Safe ways of working are built into processes, procedures and decision-making, not treated as separate from operational delivery.

A learning culture is maintained

The organisation learns from incidents, near misses, audits and inspections. Knowledge is shared, and continuous improvement is actively pursued.

360 Nuclear Skills Training embeds nuclear safety culture across all programmes. It is not a standalone module; it is the golden thread running through everything we teach.

Finding the Right SQEP Training Course in the UK

The UK nuclear sector is not short of training providers. Finding a genuinely relevant SQEP training course, one built around how the industry actually works rather than adapted from a generic template, is harder than it should be.

Most employers searching for SQEP training in the UK are looking for a provider who understands the regulatory context, delivers nuclear-specific content, and produces training evidence that will stand up to scrutiny. Most individuals looking for SQEP training are trying to demonstrate that their qualifications and experience meet the standard required for the role they are in or moving into.

Both needs point to the same requirement: a suitably qualified experienced person nuclear training programme, delivered by instructors who are themselves operating at SQEP standard.

360 Nuclear Skills Training exists to fill that gap. Our programmes range from a one-day Nuclear Induction Training, the mandatory starting point for anyone entering the UK nuclear sector to an 8-day funded Skills Bootcamp or 5-day accelerated programme both leading to the APM PFQ Level 4. In between, are structured options notably our Nuclear and Projects Essentials programme for new starters and early careers professionals

Every programme, whether it carries a formal qualification or not, is designed and delivered by nuclear professionals whose own competence meets the standard they are teaching to.

For employers, visit our nuclear training for employers page. For individuals, visit our nuclear training for learners and career transitioners page.

Answers to frequently asked questions

What is a SQEP qualification in nuclear?

SQEP stands for Suitably Qualified and Experienced Person. It is not a single qualification but a competence standard used in the UK nuclear sector to confirm that an individual has the training, qualifications and experience needed to carry out a safety-relevant task safely and to the required standard. SQEP status is determined by the employing organisation within the regulatory framework overseen by the Office for Nuclear Regulation.

What are the five nuclear safety culture elements?

The five core nuclear safety culture elements are: leadership and management commitment to safety; safety as a clearly recognised value; clear accountability for safety; integration of safety into all activities; and maintenance of a learning culture. These elements are embedded across all 360 Nuclear Skills Training programmes.

How do I become SQEP in the UK nuclear sector?

Becoming SQEP requires a combination of relevant training or qualifications, sector-specific knowledge including nuclear safety culture and regulatory awareness, and documented experience applying both in a nuclear context. 360 Nuclear Skills Training supports the training and knowledge stages through a range of programmes for employers and individuals.

What is SQEP training in nuclear?

SQEP training is any structured programme that contributes to an individual demonstrating they are suitably qualified and experienced for a nuclear safety-relevant role. It may or may not result in a formal qualification; what matters is that it is relevant, credible, delivered by sector professionals, and properly documented.