The Australian Maritime College (AMC) and TAFE SA will help deliver an advanced maritime workforce for the Australian Government’s $90 billion Naval Shipbuilding Program through a streamlined pathway for students.
The new engineering education pathways were officially launched at an event featuring students and staff from 20 SA schools in Adelaide last week.
It is estimated that up to 15,000 jobs will flow from the continuous construction of a new fleet of 12 Offshore Patrol Vessels, 9 Hunter class frigates, 12 Attack class submarines and 21 Pacific Patrol boats.
AMC Principal Michael van Balen AO said that the flexible education pathway aimed to encourage students to complete the courses they needed to qualify for future jobs.
“Under the new pathway graduates of seven TAFE SA programs now qualify for automatic entry into the Australian Maritime College’s world-famous degree programs,” van Balen said.
“They will also receive credits that shorten the time it takes to complete their degrees by up-to one third."
Van Balen also said the maritime industry was in a transformative phase.
“The shipyard of the future is becoming increasingly digitised and the demand for people with advanced skills and capabilities has intensified,” van Balen said.
“The purpose of this education pathway program is to make sure that a young person in Adelaide, who might want to start in welding, is given every opportunity possible to keep upskilling and if desired move into other fields of the maritime industry as their personal skills, confidence and expertise grows.”
The agreement follows AMC’s recent partnership with the Naval Shipbuilding College to deliver courses aligned with the needs of the naval shipbuilding industry.
The Director of Defence Industries at TAFE SA Penny Johnston said the education pathway established in Adelaide would help students in SA and beyond to get a job in the massive ship and submarine building program.
“These are more than just jobs, they are career pathways that will be ongoing for the next 20-30 years and it is our intention to make sure that as much of the workforce as possible is Australian, and that South Australians are given every opportunity possible to get the qualifications they need to participate in these incredible projects,” Johnston said.
TAFE SA’s Associate Degrees in Electronic Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering and Civil Construction (Design Drafting) and (Site Management) will receive automatic entry with credit into AMC’s maritime engineering programs.
The Diploma of Engineering –Technical and the Diploma of Project Management have been mapped with automatic entry with credit into the AMC maritime and logistics management degree.
The news follows a raft of similar agreements in recent months aimed at bolstering the nation's shipbuilding workforce.