TAFE SA must meet strict quality standards if it’s to train students at Adelaide’s shipbuilding college

TAFE SA will be put under the microscope and forced to meet strict quality standards if it wants to train thousands of students as part of Adelaide’s shipbuilding college.

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TAFE SA will be put under the microscope and forced to meet strict quality standards if it wants to train thousands of students as part of Adelaide’s shipbuilding college.

Defence Industries Minister Christopher Pyne said South Australia needed an enormous workforce of highly-skilled shipbuilders. But the Federal Government would not “compromise” on quality, he said.

It follows government and industry concerns raised in The Advertiser yesterday that the naval shipbuilding college meant to train more than 5000 workers for the state’s massive defence industry expansion is in limbo because of the growing TAFE scandal.

The crisis has been blamed for the Federal Government’s delay in finalising the tender process it began in May for the college, which was meant to be running early next year.

Defence Industries Minister Christopher Pyne said the federal Government won’t compromise on quality workers to build naval vessels.

Industry sources agree the scale of TAFE’s problems are not yet known, so it is reasonable the Federal Government would demand assurances the institution is capable of delivering a quality product.

Mr Pyne said the Turnbull Government would require the college to ensure the training was up to the standard of naval shipbuilding and was able to meet industry job needs. “It (the college) will work with existing regulators (Australian Skills Quality Authority) to ensure that this is the case,” he said.

“For TAFE SA to be involved in delivering this training the NSC (Naval Shipbuilding College) would need to be satisfied the courses offered were of the standard required.

“The NSC will have an ongoing role in monitoring the courses and maintaining the highest standards.”

TAFE SA has joined with the state’s universities and the Defence Teaming Centre to bid to provide training courses to the college and was expected to be one of the biggest winners from the contract.

SA Defence Industry Minister Martin Hamilton-Smith lashed out on social media following The Advertiser report.

He called the concerns raised “another desperate attempt” by Federal ministers and SA Opposition Leader Steven Marshall to “sledge our shipbuilding workers”.

“Phony Liberal claims that issues relating to TAFE will impact naval shipbuilding skills are unfounded,” he said. TAFE has been engulfed in crisis since the national auditor last week blocked enrolments for 14 courses because of poor standards.

The institution was widely considered essential to provide initial courses for the NSC, which will train and retrain more than 1200 people during the first few years in entry-level trades including welding, fabrication and electrical work. It is expected to train about 5200 students over the next decade to work on surface ship and submarine building projects.