The 2024-25 State Budget includes a record investment in skills funding for South Australians with the defence sector a key component of the state's economic future.
This includes an additional investment of $692.6 million over five years in the vocational education and training sector to lift the total investment, as part of the National Skills Agreement, to $2.3 billion in partnership with the Commonwealth.
As such, an extra 800 training places each year will be available for the defence sector to ensure we are building the workforce for the decades ahead.
These will include training places in skill areas such as, electrical, advanced manufacturing, plumbing and welding. These are the critical skills needed to build the AUKUS and the Hunter-Class Frigates projects.
As part of this investment, it is critical to ensure the completion rates of apprentices improves. Currently, it sits at about 50 per cent, and we need that to lift to ensure the investment in training translates to a skilled workforce.
As part of the budget, the State Government will invest $56.2 million to support students to increase training completion rates. This includes additional funding for financial and wellbeing supports, such as help to find secure housing and manage financial stress. Accessibility to career and course information will be improved and more students will be able to access foundation skills programs.
$13.3 million has been provided to support the state's workforce planning and defence industries pathways programs as education is a essential part of the key work the State Government is doing to ensure the workforce we need is ready to deliver the large defence projects for the nation.
These include increasing STEM qualified graduates, trades, and professionals to meet forecast demand and support job-readiness of graduates from both higher education and vocational education.
This builds on the Jobs and Skills Summit held at the end of 2022 where a joint Commonwealth-South Australia Defence Industry Taskforce was established.
As part of that, a 'STEM professionals in Schools' program was undertaken to increase the amount of skilled STEM teachers in schools, as well as an expansion of the science, technology, engineering and maths curriculum in schools, particularly in remote and rural areas.
The Schools Pathway program will also be a way for the defence industry to promote the benefits of the sector to students and engage them in school-based apprenticeships.
The Malinauskas Labor Government is also investing $175 million to build five new technical colleges – that will focus on state priorities, including defence skills.
As put by Stephen Mullighan
Defence projects such as AUKUS and the Hunter-Class Frigates will create a generation of work for South Australians and tens of billions of dollars for SA's economy.
We want students and apprentices to know they can start their journey to a career in defence while still at school, getting qualifications that will get them a job when they finish their SACE.
As put by Blair Boyer
We have a big job ahead of us to significantly increase our skilled workforce to meet the demands of our emerging defence industry and other areas of growth in our state.
Our investments in the wider skills sector will help us to meet the demands of the exciting period of growth ahead of us.
