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The Commonwealth, together with ASC, will help develop tomorrow’s workforce with the new Early Careers Program, providing up-and-coming professionals with the skills needed to build and maintain Australia’s future submarine fleet.
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The South Australian and Western Australian-run program will see ASC employ more apprentices, graduates, and undergraduates to provide more hands-on training with submarines.
According to Defence, more than 70 young Australians will start the program this year.
The experience will cover designing, building, and maintaining submarines, with those in the program given access to advanced technologies and training from leading submarine professionals.
Though starting with 70, Defence has confirmed that numbers are planned to grow year on year.
Ensuring that Australian workers are able to meet the demands posed by Australia’s nuclear-powered submarine program will be essential for success, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles said.
“The establishment of a nuclear-powered submarine capability in Australia will support around 20,000 direct jobs over the next 30 years. Developing the workforce to deliver the capability is vital to the success of the program,” Minister Marles said.
“The scale of work will be unlike any previous shipbuilding program in our history and will deliver career and job opportunities for generations.”
The announcement of the program came as the first Australian sailors graduated from the United States’ Naval Nuclear Power Training Command and Nuclear Power School.
According to the ABC, the three officers — Lieutenant Commander James Heydon, Lieutenant Commander Adam Klyne, and Lieutenant William Hall — covered an array of classes during their six-month course in the United States, including maths, physics, thermodynamics, and radiological controls, with an eye to gaining the qualifications to operate a submarine’s nuclear reactor.
The trio are expected to undergo additional training to complete both in retired ships and at sea to finalise the qualification.
