Total VeteranThe Trust Economy and AI: Why Verified Trust Gives Veterans an Edge, With the Evidence
Trust drives growth, and AI raises the value of verified reliability. See the data, the vetting records veterans hold, and the growing roles where trust is the job.
- Deloitte links a 10-point rise in trust to about 0.5 points more annual per capita GDP growth.
- Gallup 2026: 61% of Americans have high confidence in the military, first among institutions listed.
- UK: 42% are willing to trust AI (KPMG, 2025), and 55% are confident the armed forces can defend Britain (Ipsos, 2025).
- A 2019 FiMT and YouGov survey found 18% of UK decision makers unlikely to consider hiring veterans.
- UK vetting levels (BPSS, CTC, SC, DV) are third-party checks worth presenting with dates.
The "trust economy" describes a market where verified reliability carries a price, because AI can now do much of the routine work and buyers must decide whom or what to rely on. Veterans arrive with an unusual trust record: vetting, appraisals and years of accountability for people and equipment. The evidence supports the idea that trust drives growth and that public confidence in the military is high. It also shows that employers do not give veterans trust automatically, so the record needs translating. This guide sets out the numbers, the records worth presenting and the growing roles where trust is part of the job.
What the evidence says about trust
The phrase gained traction through a July 2025 commentary on the WEF website by Ivan Shkvarun of Social Links, titled "Trust is the new currency in the AI agent economy". It is an opinion piece that draws on three research sources. The table lists those and two measures of confidence in the armed forces.
| Measure | Figure | Source and year |
|---|---|---|
| Trust and growth | A 10-percentage-point rise in the share of trusting people is associated with about 0.5 points more annual per capita real GDP growth (meta-analysis) | Deloitte Insights, 2021 |
| Falling trust | The share of the world's population saying most people can be trusted fell by roughly 20% over 15 years | Deloitte Insights, 2021 |
| Trust at work | About 40% of US employees do not highly trust their employer (survey of 4,467, May 2020) | Deloitte Insights, 2021 |
| Trust in AI, UK | 42% willing to trust AI; 57% accept its use | KPMG and University of Melbourne, April 2025 |
| Trust in AI, advanced vs emerging economies | Trust 39% vs 57%; acceptance 65% vs 84% (47 countries, 48,000 people) | KPMG and Melbourne, cited by WEF commentary |
| AI agents market | Projected to reach $50.31 billion by 2030 | Grand View Research, cited by WEF commentary |
| Confidence in the US military | 61% great deal or quite a lot, first among the institutions listed (police 45%, banks 28%, Congress 9%) | Gallup, 2026 |
| Confidence in UK armed forces | 55% confident they could defend Britain; 43% confident in support for personnel after they leave | Ipsos, April 2025 |
The Deloitte relationship is an average across countries, so it describes economies and says nothing about individual hiring. The Ipsos result shows the limit of public goodwill: confidence in the services is high, while confidence in how they treat people after service is much lower.
The UK workplace findings from the same KPMG study (617 workers surveyed) show why verified human accountability matters: 65% of UK workers intentionally use AI at work, 54% of AI users say AI has caused them to make mistakes, and 38% admit to using AI inappropriately, for example by uploading copyrighted material. Employers who see those numbers have reason to value colleagues who follow procedure when nobody checks.
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Where AI leaves room for trust
The OECD AI exposure measure (May 2026) finds the work furthest from current AI capability involves contextual judgement, interpersonal understanding, complex decision-making and responsibility. The WEF Future of Jobs Report 2025 shows leadership and social influence gaining 22 percentage points as a core skill since 2023 (skills outlook). Those findings describe work where a named person carries accountability. Our piece on the skills employers will pay for in 2030 covers the wider list.
The UK trust records you may already hold
UK national security vetting is a formal, third-party check. The UK Security Vetting clearance levels set out what each level involves:
| Level | What the checks cover | Review period |
|---|---|---|
| BPSS (Baseline Personnel Security Standard) | Identity, right to work, employment history, unspent criminal record. Not a formal clearance | Not stated |
| CTC (Counter Terrorist Check) | BPSS plus security questionnaire, departmental records, criminal record and Security Service checks | 10 years (5 for non-FSC contractors) |
| SC (Security Check) | CTC-level checks plus credit and financial history | 10 years (7 for non-FSC contractors) |
| DV (Developed Vetting) | Full personal finance review, detailed interview and referee interviews | 7 years |
| eDV (Enhanced Developed Vetting) | Financial investigation and interviews with applicant, supervisor and referees; very few posts | Not stated |
Ask your security officer before you leave what you can evidence and how a future employer can verify it. The UK Cyber security skills report 2026 shows about 145,900 cyber workers and 53% of cyber firms planning to grow in 2026. In the US, the same advice applies: ask your security manager what documentation your clearance history supports.
How employers actually view veterans
A 2019 YouGov survey of 1,282 UK senior decision makers for the Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT summary) found that 18% were unlikely to consider hiring veterans, mostly because of negative perceptions. The top concern was missing skills or experience (44%), then culture fit (19%) and service skills not translating (18%). In the same survey 63% said hiring veterans adds to workplace diversity and 27% of organisations had never hired a veteran. The data is from 2019. It shows that trust in the uniform does not settle a hiring decision, and that translation of the record decides it.
Growth roles where access and accountability are the job
This grouping is an interpretation: roles in the BLS projections table where the job involves access to systems or people, safeguarding or accountability for others. Figures are 2025 to 2035 growth and May 2025 median pay.
| Occupation (US) | Projected growth | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Nurse practitioners | 41.0% | $132,300 |
| Medical and health services managers | 24.2% | $123,860 |
| Information security analysts | 21.0% | $129,180 |
| Occupational health and safety specialists | 18.5% | $90,150 |
| Computer and information systems managers | 15.8% | $175,140 |
| Financial managers | 9.7% | $166,570 |
| General and operations managers | 5.0% (181,300 new jobs) | $105,770 |
Accountability also carries pay. Every role above sits well over the all-occupations US median of $50,980. Trust-heavy work still faces pressure: BLS projects correctional officers down 7.4%.
Present the record as evidence
- List the clearance or vetting level and the date it was granted, if you may disclose it.
- Describe two decisions you made without supervision, including what was at stake and what happened.
- Name the people, budgets or equipment you were accountable for, with numbers.
- Secure written references from people who saw you work under pressure.
- Pair each claim with a skill from the employer's advert. Our guide to military CV translation shows the wording.
Questions to ask a prospective employer
- Which decisions in this role does one person sign off, and who reviews them?
- How does the team approve and monitor AI tools, and who answers for mistakes?
- Does the role need vetting or a background check, and who sponsors it?
These questions show you understand where accountability sits, which is the quality the evidence above says AI leaves to people.
Check what you may disclose about vetting or clearance before it goes on a CV. Employers can verify a clearance, and an inaccurate claim damages the very trust you are selling.
What to do this week
- List your clearance or vetting level and the date, after checking what you may disclose.
- Write two examples of unsupervised decisions with stakes and outcomes.
- Quantify the people, budgets or equipment you were accountable for.
- Ask two former supervisors for written references this month.
- Match each trust claim to a skill named in a target job advert.
Questions people ask
What is the trust economy?
Does trust really affect economic growth?
What UK security clearance levels exist?
Do employers trust veterans?
Which jobs reward trust and accountability?
- World Economic Forum, "Trust is the new currency in the AI agent economy" (25 July 2025). https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/07/ai-agent-economy-trust
- Deloitte Insights, "The link between trust and economic prosperity" (20 May 2021). https://www.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/topics/economy/connecting-trust-and-economic-growth.html
- KPMG UK, press release on "Trust, attitudes and use of AI: a global study 2025", UK findings (29 April 2025). https://www.kpmg.com/uk/en/media/press-releases/2025/04/majority-of-uk-public.html
- Gallup, "Confidence in Institutions" (2026). https://news.gallup.com/poll/1597/confidence-institutions.aspx
- Ipsos UK, confidence in the armed forces poll (6 May 2025). https://www.ipsos.com/en-uk/third-britons-higher-among-men-and-young-people-would-take-arms-country-confidence-armed-forces
- UK Government, "United Kingdom Security Vetting: clearance levels". https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/united-kingdom-security-vetting-clearance-levels/national-security-vetting-clearance-levels
- Forces in Mind Trust and YouGov, "Veterans face negative stereotypes when applying for jobs" (8 October 2019). https://www.fim-trust.org/news/veterans-face-negative-stereotypes-when-applying-for-jobs/
- OECD, "The OECD AI exposure measure" (25 May 2026). https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/the-oecd-ai-exposure-measure_f3da0f0a-en.html
- BLS, "Fastest growing occupations", Employment Projections table 1.3 (2025 to 2035). https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables/fastest-growing-occupations.htm
- World Economic Forum, "Future of Jobs Report 2025: Skills Outlook" (chapter 3). https://www.weforum.org/publications/the-future-of-jobs-report-2025/in-full/3-skills-outlook/
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