How to make sure you don’t lose your security clearance

If you have left the armed forces recently and are now looking for new employment, ship building and ship refit environments might be a consideration for you. In some cases, you are going to need security clearance to be able to complete these jobs, which comes inherently from being part of the armed forces. As such, you need to make sure that you don’t lose your clearance, and that’s what we’re going to be talking about in this article. Keep reading down below if you would like to find out more.

Ensure It Is Being Used

One of the things that you have got to do is ensure that you are actively using your security clearance. You might not know this but security clearance expires after one year if it is not being used by the person holding it, which means that you would have to go through the vetting process all over again if you wanted a career that required it. As such, it’s important to try and get into a job that requires you to use it sooner rather than later.

Change Of Personal Circumstance

It is also essential that you report any relevant change in your personal circumstances if they may have an impact on your clearance. To inform the government of the change, you are going to need to fill out one of the personal circumstances forms. There are a few to choose from and you can get help with which one is the most appropriate for you to fill in.

You are also required to report any substantial change to your financial circumstances such as being declared bankrupt or if you experience any kind of substantial financial impact. This could be that you have received a large inheritance from a family member, or it could be that you are getting a divorce.

Security Appraisal Form

You may also have to fill in an annual security appraisal to ensure that you still hold the correct level of clearance. The security appraisal form should be completed by all holders of an eDV, DV or eSC clearance. Your supervisor should also be completing this form, to ensure that you are being supported and monitored as necessary. It is possible for this process to be extended to people who hold SC or CTC clearances as well, but this will be done via an exception rather than a rule.

Supervisors, Line Managers and Security Controllers will all be monitoring you to ensure that you are behaving in a way that is appropriate. As such, you need to make sure that you are not exhibiting behaviour that is unbecoming of someone with your level of clearance, or this will be noted on the security appraisal form.

Now you know how to make sure you don’t lose your security clearance after coming out of the armed forces. Get in touch with us today if you are interested in pursuing a new career in ship building and we can get started.