Dearth of vital skills ‘a risk to $90bn ship building plans’

The $90bn naval shipbuilding plan faces critical skills shortages.

Australia’s naval shipbuilding plan faces critical skills shortages that could set back the delivery of Australia’s next-­generation vessels. Picture: Royal Australian Navy

Australia’s $90bn naval shipbuilding plan faces critical skills shortages that could set back the delivery of Australia’s next-­generation submarines, frigates and patrol boats in a threat to ­national security.

A Senate inquiry into Australia’s naval shipbuilding capability has been told the quality of trades training for welders is “totally ­inadequate” for the needs of the industry, while the pipeline of maritime engineers will be insufficient to deliver the shipbuilding plan.

Amid growing concern over delays to the nation’s $50bn ­Future Submarines, the first of which is to enter service in 2035 at the earliest, the peak body representing Australian welders said the nation faced dire skills short­ages in the key shipbuilding trade.

Weld Australia said the construction of 12 new Attack-class submarines and nine Hunter-class frigates at Adelaide’s Osborne shipyards would create huge demand for skilled welders, but Australia had “only a veneer of welders with significant ship welding experience”.

“The commonwealth has underestimated the size of the task of establishing two internationally competitive modern shipyards side-by-side in a state with negative population growth,” its chief executive Geoff Crittenden said in a submission to the Senate economics committee.

“Furthermore, it has over-­estimated the capability of the Australian welding industry to meet the demand for qualified welders, supervisors, inspectors, technologists and engineers in a rapidly tightening market.”

The number of welding supervisors and inspectors trained to international standards had been in steady decline since 2012, he said, while the quality of Certificate III apprentices being produced in Australia “is totally unacceptable and not of the required standards for the defence industry”.

Weld Australia CEO Geoff Crittenden says the commonwealth has overestimated the capability of the the Australian welding industry. Picture: Supplied

Mr Crittenden said the problem was well understood by the prime contractors charged with delivering the new naval platforms, but “repeated submissions to consecutive defence industry ministers have been ignored”.

The Australian Maritime College told the inquiry that on current projections, there would not be enough qualified maritime engineers to deliver the shipbuilding plan.

“The current pipeline of student engineers and existing pool of graduate and professional engineers in these specialisations are insufficient to satisfy the demand of the naval shipbuilding enterprise,” it said.

It attributed the poor forecasts to the small pool of secondary school students with sufficient maths and science achievements, the lack of awareness of maritime engineering specialties, and difficulties in attracting mainland students to the Tasmanian-based institution. It called on the government to consider offering HECS concessions for students “linked to the critical skills shortages for naval shipbuilding”.

It said naval architecture was a key maritime engineering specialty but “despite the overt ambition for continuous naval shipbuilding in Australia, there is little recognition and awareness of it in the national ­dialogue”.

Defence Industry Minister Melissa Price said the government was addressing the skills requirements of the shipbuilding plan. “The Morrison government has taken an early and active role in supporting industry, through the establishment of the Naval Shipbuilding College to ensure a co-ordinated approach to training and skilling,” she said.

The Naval Shipbuilding College is working with industry to determine workforce requirements to 2035, with welding and fabrication jobs identified as ­medium and long-term priorities.