Australian submarine builder ASC has announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the South Australian government to develop defence industry workforce and skills, Defence Connect reports.
The partnership is expected to further enhance existing relationships with local companies, academia, and education providers to develop the necessary skilled workforce and strengthen Australia’s sovereign submarine capability.
“These are very exciting times for ASC and South Australia, and we are looking forward to partnering with the state government,” said ASC CEO and managing director Stuart Whiley.
“Building and maintaining submarines in South Australia is going to be a huge part of the economy for many decades to come.
“We already have an immediate need for tradespeople to help us maintain our existing Collins Class submarines. In the not-too-distant future, the kids who are at high school today will be the ones building the AUKUS submarine fleet of tomorrow.”
South Australian Deputy Premier Susan Close said the MoU would support collaboration to deliver current and future defence projects.
“This MoU will be mutually beneficial to the Government of South Australia and ASC as we undertake further cooperation with industry, research institutes and education providers to develop South Australia’s defence industry workforce and skills,” she said.
Earlier this month, the ASC also announced it had finalised an enterprise agreement with its South Australian employees.
The enterprise agreement has resulted in an average 18 per cent pay increase for its South Australian workers, with 12 per cent of that increase to help move towards pay equity with the West Australian workforce (bringing South Australian employees within 7 per cent of their West Australian counterparts).
The remaining 6 per cent increase is aligned to a number of roster change provisions, which will provide ASC with greater flexibility regarding its ability to implement different rosters in line with operational requirements.
“The outcome is positive for both the company and our employees,” said Whiley.
“We have always been committed to ensuring our employees are paid fair and equitable wages across our organisation and are pleased that we have been able to structure an enterprise agreement [that] is reflective of both market rates and ASC’s desire to drive productivity through our organisation.”
