The Australian government is establishing a maritime technical college to identify, train or retrain workers for the country’s $89 billion shipbuilding program, Australian Minister for Defense industry announced on Friday.
Minister Christopher Pyne said an initial $25 million would be invested into the college which will be based in Adelaide and deliver training across the country in key areas such as steel fabrication, welding and naval engineering.
“By the late 2020s the naval shipbuilding industry will expand to more than 5,200 employees in construction in South Australia, and more than double this in sustainment and through the supply chain across the country,” Minister Pyne said.
“The Maritime Technical College is a government investment aimed at attracting, recruiting, training and retaining the workforce we need to successfully deliver a continuous naval shipbuilding program.”
Minister for Education and Training Simon Birmingham said the college would start operations in early 2018, with a focus on “increasing key entry-level trade qualifications through contracted registered training organisations across Australia.”