SQEP IN NUCLEAR

IRR17, SQEP and ONR: What Every Nuclear Employer Needs to Know

What each one means, how they interact, and what are the practical implications for nuclear employers and dutyholders

Introduction

If you manage a workforce in the UK nuclear sector, or if your organisation sits within the nuclear supply chain, three acronyms appear repeatedly in conversations about compliance, competence and regulatory readiness: IRR17, SQEP and ONR. They are connected, and understanding how they relate to each other is fundamental to building a workforce that is not just capable, but demonstrably compliant.

This post sets out what each one means, how they interact, and what the practical implications are for nuclear employers.

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 requirements at a glance. For the full picture, read on.

What Is IRR17?

IRR17 refers to the Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017, the primary UK statutory framework for protecting employees, contractors and the public from the hazards associated with ionising radiation. It came into force on 1 January 2018, replacing the previous IRR99 regulations, and applies across nuclear sites, medical facilities, research environments and any setting where ionising radiation is present, including nuclear medicine environments.

The regulations place clear duties on employers. Where work involves ionising radiation, the employer must ensure that exposure is kept as low as reasonably practicable, that appropriate radiation protection arrangements are in place, and critically, that the people performing radiation-relevant work are competent to do so.

That last point is where IRR17 and SQEP connect directly.

What Is SQEP and Why Does It Matter for Employers?

SQEP stands for Suitably Qualified and Experienced Person. It is the competence standard used across 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.

For employers, SQEP is not just an individual concern. It is an organisational responsibility. If your workforce includes people performing nuclear safety-relevant work, including roles that fall under IRR17 obligations, you need a credible, auditable competence management system that can demonstrate why each person has been assessed as SQEP for their specific duties.

SQEP status is not self-declared. It is determined by the organisation, normally through a line manager, technical authority or designated competent assessor, and it must be evidenced. That evidence typically includes formal qualifications where applicable, documented training records, task-specific experience logs, and a clear assessment trail showing how the judgement was reached.

The important word in all of that is ‘documented’. A workforce full of experienced nuclear professionals with no paper trail is not a compliant workforce. ONR will look for evidence, and the absence of it creates regulatory risk regardless of how capable the individuals actually are.

For a fuller explanation of how SQEP is defined and what it means in practice, see our SQEP nuclear training overview.

Where Does ONR Fit In?

The Office for Nuclear Regulation is the independent statutory regulator for nuclear safety, security and safeguards in Great Britain. It also regulates health and safety at licensed nuclear sites and the safe transport of radioactive materials. ONR is, in practical terms, the body that checks whether IRR17 and SQEP are working properly in your organisation.

ONR does not accredit SQEP training providers directly. What it does is inspect competence management systems, training records, appointment documentation and supervision arrangements to assess whether an organisation’s SQEP arrangements are systematic, current and defensible.

A useful way to think about the relationship is this. IRR17 is the legal framework for radiation protection. SQEP is the competence standard for the people applying that framework. ONR is the regulator that checks both are functioning as they should.

All three are connected, and a weakness in any one of them creates a problem the other two cannot compensate for.

In a real site inspection, ONR assessors will look at whether procedures exist and are followed, whether training records support the competence claims being made, whether supervision and assessment arrangements are robust, and whether the right people are actually doing the work they are recorded as being SQEP to perform. Good paperwork is a necessary condition, not a sufficient one. The competence needs to be real.

What This Means in Practice for Nuclear Employers

The practical implication for employers is that SQEP compliance is a system, not a certificate. It requires three things working together:

a clear competence framework that defines what SQEP looks like for each role
structured training that builds and evidences the competence each person needs
assessment and review process that keeps that evidence current.

Before any of that, there is one course that every single person entering the nuclear industry must complete, regardless of role, seniority or background: a Nuclear Induction.

This is not discretionary. Whether someone is a project manager transitioning from defence, a graduate joining their first nuclear employer, a contractor working on a supply chain contract, or a specialist visiting a regulated site, a nuclear induction is the baseline requirement for anyone working in or entering the UK nuclear sector. Sites and employers require it. Regulators expect it. And without it, individuals cannot operate effectively or compliantly from day one.

Our Nuclear Induction Course (1 day) is designed to meet that requirement, and to go well beyond a standard site-level induction. Delivered online and fully tutor-led by SQEP professionals with real industry experience, it covers everything a new entrant needs to understand before setting foot in a nuclear environment:

the structure of the UK nuclear industry, including energy generation, decommissioning, defence and new build
the UK regulatory framework, covering the ONR, the Environment Agency, IAEA, site licence conditions and how regulation shapes project delivery
nuclear safety culture, ALARP, human performance factors and what good looks like in practice
project management principles contextualised for nuclear, including roles, life cycles and the Project Management Plan
quality management, configuration control, risk and communication in nuclear project environments
the UK nuclear supply chain, including tier structures, contract frameworks and how commercial relationships work in practice
nuclear professionalism, security, information management and personal accountability

Participants leave with a certificate of completion they can use to evidence nuclear induction training to employers and site operators. More importantly, they leave nuclear-ready, compressing what typically takes three to six months of on-the-job acclimatisation into a single intensive day. For employers onboarding multiple new starters, graduates or supply chain staff, bespoke in-house delivery is available.

360 Nuclear Skills Training supports employers across the full training and evidence stage, not just at the point of induction. Our programmes are designed and delivered by instructors who are themselves SQEP professionals, and every learner completes a course with documented evidence of structured, nuclear-contextualised training that can be used directly in a competence file.

For programmes leading to the APM Project Fundamentals Qualification Level 4, learners also gain a nationally recognised, APM-accredited credential. For all other programmes, learners receive documented evidence of completion from a SQEP-credentialed provider. Either way, the training record is real, relevant and auditable.

The nuclear sector’s skills pipeline challenge makes this more pressing, not less. As experienced nuclear professionals retire and demand for nuclear project delivery grows, employers are increasingly drawing on talent from adjacent sectors such as defence, engineering, construction and project management. Those individuals bring transferable skills, but they need structured onboarding into the nuclear context to work effectively and compliantly from the start of their nuclear careers. The nuclear induction is where that journey begins, for everyone.

Find out more about our nuclear training programmes for employers, or if you are an individual looking to understand your own SQEP development pathway, visit our nuclear training for learners and career transitioners page.

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