Australia has started constructing the Skills and Training Academy, a facility to equip the local workforce with shipbuilding skills. The Albanese government has allocated $304.3 million for the initiative.
Located in Osborne, South Australia, the campus will simulate a submarine construction yard, trade workshops, state-of-the-art classrooms and other facilities, enabling students to gain hands-on skills and classroom-based learning.
According to Peter Malinauskas, premier of South Australia, the trilateral partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States is a big opportunity to develop a naval shipbuilding-ready workforce in the state. With AUKUS’ support, Australia aims to replicate the U.K.’s success with its own Skills and Training Academy, he added.
“This is an incredible opportunity for young South Australians to learn highly technical hands-on skills, which will lead them into high-quality careers that will last for lifetimes,” the state premier said.
Boosting South Australia’s Economy
The Skills and Training Academy Campus is also seen as boosting local infrastructure and industry. It falls under the Commonwealth-South Australian Defence Industry Workforce and Skills Report and Action Plan, which is composed of over 20 initiatives, including the Defence Industry Pathways Program South Australian expansion and the Schools Pathways Program.
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles highlighted the new academy’s role in the future of the South Australian economy.
“South Australia’s industry will deliver billions of dollars in defense capabilities and thousands of well-paid, high-skilled jobs — and the Skills and Training Academy Campus at Osborne is at the center of this work,” he said.
The Skills and Training Academy initiative complements the Albanese government’s 2024 Naval Shipbuilding and Sustainment Plan. The plan details vessel construction and sustainment projects across the country, including 55 new ships and an enhanced surface combatant fleet.