Page 20 - Australian Defence Magazine Feb-Mar 2023

20 DEFENCE BUSINESS ADM SKILLING SUMMIT
FEBRUARY-MARCH 2023 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
SKILLING THE DEFENCE INDUSTRY WORKFORCE
The inaugural ADM Defence Skilling Summit was held in Hobart on 9 November 2022 in partnership with the Tasmanian Government.
JULIAN KERR & NIGEL PITTAWAY | HOBART
THE one-day summit was followed by a day of optional tours of local industries in Hobart and the Australian Maritime College (AMC) in Launceston.
The event was chaired by Michael van Balen, Principal of the AMC, who opened proceedings by noting that Aus- tralia is the third-lowest of nations within the Organisation
for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in terms of graduating engineers.
“Eight per cent of university graduates are engineers in Australia and that compares to 24 per cent of graduates in Germany and 19 per cent in Japan,” he said. “And if engi- neers are our problem solvers, then we've got a problem.”
KEYNOTE ADDRESSES
Federal Minister for Skills and Training Brendan O’Connor addressed delegates via video link from Canberra, noting the challenges faced by the need to provide sovereign capa- bility to Defence.
“We're facing an increasingly complex and challenging op- erating environment, particularly across the Indo-Pacific,” he said. “We need to develop and grow a larger highly-skilled workforce to continue to enhance this country's security.”
From a national shipbuilding enterprise perspective, Commo- dore Anthony Klenthis, Director General Future Navy Work- force, provided delegates with an update of the newly-created Naval Shipbuilding Sustainment Group (NSSG) within CASG.
“The NSSG is really supporting the naval shipbuilding enterprise through not only capability, sponsorship of na- val ship building, but providing a highly capable productive and skill workforce as one of the key enablers – that work- force sponsorship – and collaborating with industry and across government to identify solutions,” he said.
BELOW: Tasmania has a growing defence industry, particularly in the maritime sector
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