Building submarines will turn Adelaide into nation’s tech capital for next 40 years

Adelaide is primed to become the nation’s technology capital for the next four decades. See why defence contracts could hold the key.

Australia is scoping sites to build its first nuclear-powered submarine in a program that will transform Adelaide into the nation’s tech capital for the next 40 years.

Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy confirmed sites in the city were being earmarked to construct the long-range submarines, with 2000 workers to be recruited in the next five years and more than 10,000 by the late 2030s.

But he said the government needed to think about whether “an AUKUS visa” made sense to help plug the skills labour shortage gap.

The commissioning of submarine HMS Anson at BAE System Barrow, Cumbira, England. Picture: Supplied

Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy. Picture: Supplied

Speaking at the end of a three-day trip to the UK to assess the British approach to developing nuclear-powered submarines, he said the program would transform Adelaide and be the most advanced national endeavour in the world.

“The United States has only shared this technology once and only with one other country, the United Kingdom in the late 50s,” he said.

“For the next 40 years, Adelaide will have a steady drumbeat of investment in the most high tech manufacturing you have ever seen.”

Australia would recruit a small number of British and American skilled workers but the “vast majority” would be home grown.

He said great lessons were learnt from his visit to the BAE Shipyard at Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria which trains 2000 people each year at a given time.

“They recruit and train 350 apprentices each year and then another 450 project managers and engineers – the scale of this endeavour will be unparalleled in Australian history in terms of training, and we’re just going to have to invest in it,” he said.

“There will be a lot of school kids in Adelaide who, if they want a job in the submarine industry, will have one for life.”

BAE Systems apprentices 15 of the 16 school students who will become full-time apprentices by the end of last year at the Osborne Naval Shipyard. Picture: Supplied

He added while it was logical to have recruits from the US and UK for the Aussie program, it was still a challenge in terms of security clearance and checks.

“That’s why the vast majority will be already in Australia, working in other industries or in defence already, but others we will train from scratch – kids currently in primary school, in year seven and eight, looking at their careers who we will gobble up and train as apprentices or engineers,” he said.

Mr Conroy said there were not any facilities in place in Adelaide to build the submarines currently and work was underway to identify sites.

“We can’t dilly dally – we’re 100 per cent in on this endeavour,” he said.