Students to be paid up to $50,000 in new apprenticeship uni course for SA defence

Students now have the chance to undertake a paid apprenticeship – earning up to $50,000 – from their first year of uni as SA plans for the AUKUS project.

Last year, 18-year-old Alicia was a Year 12 student at Norwood International High School, now she is working at a multinational defence company while studying at university.

Alicia is part of an intake of 13 software engineering students participating in an nation-first degree apprenticeship at the University of South Australia to support the state’s defence sector ahead of the construction of nuclear-powered AUKUS submarines.

The degree allows Alicia to undertake paid work at BAE Systems Australia two days a week while studying at university.

It is the first time apprentices in Australia will receive a degree qualification following the five year program.

Alicia said she is excited to “help create solutions to problems” in the defence industry.

“I did some coding in high school and decided I want to pursue that further,” she said.

“It’s an opportunity to get first-hand experience working in the engineering environment and it allows you to be able to implement what you learn at university into a real-world situation.”

First year software engineering student Alicia is working at BAE while studying. Picture: Keryn Stevens

In her first semester Alicia will undertake foundational courses which will prepare her for the second half of the year when she will begin working on programming for BAE under supervision.

Other partners in the program include ASC, Ai Group and Consunet.

Education Minister Blair Boyer said the “biggest and most profound advantage” of the degree apprenticeship model is the ability of students to “earn while you learn.”

The program will provide students with salaries between $30,000 per year for junior apprentices and up to $50,000 for apprentices over 21 years old, funded by the industry partners.

Education Minister Blair Boyer announced the program next to first year apprentice Alicia. Picture: RoyVPhotography

Mr Boyer said his “ambitions don’t stop here” as the program has the potential to be expanded in the future.

“We’re going to need to do more degree apprenticeships,” Mr Boyer said.

Skills Commissioner Cameron Baker said the program “is going to assist us in the long run” with producing qualified graduates to fill skill shortages.

“We’re going to get better outcomes on completion because we’re paying them from day one,” Mr Baker said.

SA Skills Commissioner Cameron Baker said the program will help to fill skills shortages. Picture: RoyVPhotography

He said if this pilot program ran well, it might expand to include mechanical engineering apprentices and “more symbiotic trade areas that will feed into AUKUS”.

UniSA vice chancellor David Lloyd said the new program would embed students into SA’s defence sector “from day one”.

“The degree apprenticeship is a natural fit for our university, ensuring we produce highly-skilled graduates for the state’s growing defence sector,” Prof Lloyd said.