Babcock leading the charge to upskill Defence workforce

Babcock Australasia’s CEO Andrew Cridland explains what the company is doing to support the critical skilled workforce required to deliver the nation’s biggest and most ambitious defence agenda in our lifetime

From partnering with Australia’s top universities to launching the Babcock Skills Academy in the UK, Babcock International is forging ahead with plans to support the development of the critical skilled workforce required to deliver the nation’s first nuclear powered submarines – and the ambitious AUKUS agenda.

Recognising the significant task of upskilling Australians, Babcock Australasia CEO Andrew Cridland said the company was well-placed to support the Commonwealth with developing the skilled workforce in the region.

“As the premier naval sustainment company in Australia and New Zealand, underpinned by our global experience, Babcock stands ready to grow Australia’s industrial capability to support the AUKUS program and the biggest national endeavour in our lifetime,” said Mr Cridland.

“There is no doubt upskilling and finding the workforce required to deliver Australia’s inaugural nuclear-powered submarines is one of the nation’s greatest challenges.

“Babcock is forging ahead with our plans to upskill Australia’s workforce at pace through partnerships and opportunities to ensure the nation has the capability and expertise we need to operate, manage and sustain nuclear submarines from sovereign bases.

“The exchange of skilled people between Australia and nuclear-powered submarine facilities overseas will be essential to developing our sovereign capacity in Australia – and we’ll need everyone from apprentices, graduate engineers, project managers, boilermakers and welders to support the AUKUS agenda.

“Given our extensive global experience in sustainment, nuclear safety and stewardship, Babcock stands ready to assist Australia in delivering this very significant opportunity, including growing the required workforce to support the nation’s current and future Defence programs.”

Babcock and University of Adelaide partner with MOU

Babcock recently announced a partnership with the University of Adelaide to accelerate Australia’s defence industry workforce through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in a commitment to work closely together to develop the nation’s workforce and skills to support current and future defence programs.

The MoU will serve as the guiding framework, between the University of Adelaide and Babcock, to work together on new talent attraction and development to support defence and national security and realise the potential presented by AUKUS.

“The MOU highlights Babcock’s commitment to work closely with the university sector so we can continue to grow and develop our workforce needed to keep our nation – and the wider Indo Pacific region – safe and secure,” said Mr Cridland.

“As a tri-national endeavour, we all need to urgently upskill our workforce and encourage Australians to take up once-in-a-lifetime careers in the Defence industry in order to deliver the most complex and largest Defence agenda in Australia’s history – and this work starts now.”

Partnering with Engineering Aid Australia, Yalari and Women in STEM

Babcock is proud to partner with Engineering Aid Australia and Yalari who provide support to young Indigenous Australians engaged in both school and university education.

Babcock also supports a number of women in STEM initiatives including the University of Adelaide Women in STEM, University of South Australia Engineering Awards and the Auckland University of Technology Women in STEM.

“Babcock is focused on not only ensuring we secure the future talent that our business needs but also that we have the best people, with the best skills working in an inclusive, diverse and engaging culture,” said Mr Cridland.

“Babcock is proud to be leading the charge to ensure the nation has the skilled Defence workforce required and ready in the months, years and decades to come.”

Babcock Skills Academy launched

In August, Babcock announced the Babcock Skills Academy in the UK, aimed to enhance the growing workforce’s capabilities and ensure the country is fully equipped to meet the evolving challenges in the future.

The Skills Academy uses a hybrid teaching model that combines cutting-edge digital resources and hands on training, to rapidly get Babcock’s workforce ready to deliver the critical capabilities the company’s customers need.

More than 2,000 people are expected to pass through the Skills Academy in its first three years, and a further 10,000 over the following five years.

Babcock supports British Army to deliver apprenticeship engineering program

Babcock recently announced the company has been awarded a six-year contact to continue to support the British Army in delivering one of the biggest apprenticeships programmes in the UK, providing aspiring engineers with an opportunity to develop their skills and contribute to vital operations across the world.

Mr Cridland said Babcock’s global partnerships – and drive to support, retain and attract skilled workers – reiterated the company’s aim of creating a “safe and secure world, together.”

“AUKUS is the single largest strategic partnership in our lifetime,” said Mr Cridland.

“Babcock can deliver an enormous amount of expertise and experience into the AUKUS program and we believe there is no one better qualified to be a nuclear partner of choice with the Commonwealth than Babcock.”

Andrew Cridland is Babcock Australasia’s Chief Executive Officer.