New report identifies challenges and solutions to creating 15,000 shipbuilding jobs in SA

Security clearances, declining apprenticeship numbers, international competition for skills and experience shortages pose a threat to SA’s shipbuilding sector, a new Federal Government report shows.

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Security clearances, declining apprenticeship numbers, international competition for skills and experience shortages pose a threat to South Australia’s shipbuilding sector, a new Federal Government report shows.

Defence minister Christopher Pyne has today released the Naval Shipbuilding Strategic Workforce Discussion Paper that sets out solutions to the issues and seeks feedback from the industry to ensure South Australia has enough workers to undertake its defence projects.

The Naval Shipbuilding Plan anticipates that the continuous national naval shipbuilding

enterprise will require a workforce of around 15,000 people across new vessel acquisition,

sustainment and the supply chain.

The release of the report coincided with the Federal Government announcing Raytheon Australia has been chosen by Defence to act as it Australian Aegis Systems Integration Agent. That means that the capability the company has established on the Air Warfare Destroyer program will be applied to the development and enhancement of future Navy combat system capabilities.

Mr Pyne said while the Government has already taken action to build the workforce, it is important to hear if there is more it can and should do to support workforce growth.

“The Government’s investment in establishing the National Naval Shipbuilding Enterprise will create thousands of direct and indirect jobs across Australia,” Mr Pyne said.

“In order to meet the future demands of the Naval Shipbuilding Enterprise, we must ensure we have the right people, at the right time, with the right skills.”

The report said a continuous national naval shipbuilding sector represents the most

significant national-building project Australia has ever undertaken.

“Critical to the successful delivery of new naval capability and the ongoing sustainability of continuous naval shipbuilding, is a highly skilled and productive workforce,” the report said.

“If there are workforce shortages in the national naval shipbuilding enterprise, these could

delay the construction or sustainment of naval vessels or lead to significant increases in

project costs — either of which could undermine Australia’s naval capability, and our

collective achievement of the goals set out in the Naval Shipbuilding Plan.

“While recruiting and developing the workforce required for naval shipbuilding is the

responsibility of naval shipbuilders, there is a case for the Australian Government to support

these efforts.”

Minister for Defence Industry Christopher Pyne. Picture: File (AAP)

Opposition Minster for Skills Doug Cameron said the Coalition was the single biggest threat to skills training.

“Under the Coalition, there has been a 38 per cent reduction in VET funding in South Australia and the SA Liberals have announced the closure of seven TAFE’s, including Port Adelaide which is ideally located for maritime and defence industry training,” Senator Cameron said.

“TAFE enrolments have plummeted by 24.5 per cent, dodgy private training providers have flourished and there are 140,000 fewer apprentices.”

The report said Naval Shipbuilding College, in Osborne, has been established to ensure a co-ordinated, national approach to workforce development and skilling across the national naval shipbuilding enterprise.

NSC Program Director Bill Docalovich said an unprecedented range of opportunities exist for smart and skilled students to work on the world’s most technologically advanced projects.

“With decades of naval shipbuilding and sustainment work in the pipeline, students have an opportunity to secure meaningful work over their lifetime, from the ship deck to the board room,” he said.

“Since its launch in November around 500 people from throughout Australia have already registered their interest in a naval shipbuilding career and thousands more will follow.”