SA shipyard jobs drive hits new milestone with over 4000 people signing on to workforce register

Ex-Holden workers have made the shift to shipbuilding, while more than 4000 people have signed on to a workforce register to build Future Submarines and Future Frigates in Adelaide.

A push to attract thousands of workers to build the Future Submarines and Future Frigates has hit a new milestone with more than 4000 people signing on to a workforce register.

South Australians are leading the pack, accounting for 47 per cent or almost 2000 of those signing up.

The workforce register, run by the Naval Shipbuilding College, links people to employers or to training providers so they can upskill to enter the shipbuilding sector.

Of those who have signed on, more than 1000 people are already ‘employment ready’ and another 900 are now in training.

SA will need more than 4000 people to work directly on the Attack Class submarines and Hunter Class warships by 2030, and thousands more workers in the supply chain.

Former Holden engineers Florin Alexandru, Kevin Tan and Tony Callisto have already made the jump into shipbuilding after a combined 35 years working for the iconic car maker.

Former Holden workers Florin Alexandru, Kevin Tan and Tony Callisto had a combined 35 years experience at the iconic car maker before transitioning to Naval Group Australia. Picture: Keryn Stevens

The trio used to work together sourcing machines for the Elizabeth factory but made the switch to Naval Group, which is designing the future subs, when it became clear the car plant was going to close.

“All three of us felt very proud to be a part of a company like Holden. It was such a big part of SA for a long time, and loved by the public,” Mr Alexandru said.

“Submarines and cars are obviously very different, but many of the skills are similar. It’s all about getting the planning right so that you can manufacture the best quality product,” he said.

Mr Alexandru was the last of the trio to leave Holden, remaining after car manufacturing ended in 2017 to help with decommissioning the factory.

Naval Group Australia plans to hire about 250 local workers this year, and 1700 people over the next decade.

Chief executive John Davis said the company was developing training programs, looking to attract workers from other industries, and would provide on-the-job training to grow its workforce.

There was a “very significant base of existing talent in the SA economy,” he said.

“Many of those people can be transferred into the Attack Class program with bridging training on our particular tools and processes,” Mr Davis said.

“We are actively examining options to redeploy skilled people who have been made redundant at other South Australian businesses to bring their extensive experiences and knowledge into our team.”

The company also wanted to promote multi-decade opportunity in shipbuilding to attract young Australians into the industry.

Defence Industry Minister Melissa Price said “a generation of jobs” was coming to Adelaide and the Naval Shipbuilding College was working to fill them with skilled workers.

“Our plan is to ensure there are clear career pathways for jobseekers,” she said.

National Shipbuilding College chief executive Ian Irving said the college had been looking to attract workers from other industries, and particularly those hit by COVID-19.

It was also developing a suite of specialist bridging courses to develop a pipeline of skilled workers, while providing career advice, tailored education and re-skilling opportunities to those on the workforce register.

Specialist engineers are among 18 priority job fields the college believes will be needed in the next three years, including mechanical, electrical, software, combat systems, production, and structural engineers.

Other priority fields include naval architecture, engineering management, logistics support, designers, production quality control and heavy fabrication operations.