Defence Business_Issue 41 (Nov 17 – Jan 18)_DTC_Web

November/December 2017/January 2018 Defence Business
DIECS LAUNCH
27
Defence's Future Workforce
By Philip Smart
Australian universities, vocational education providers and industry bodies have
formed a national consortium to ensure Australia’s future workforce has the skills and
education to support future major defence projects.
The Defence Industry Education and Skills Consortium (DIESC), launched at the
Pacific 2017 International Maritime Exposition in Sydney on October 4, will form a
critical interface between industry and academia to ensure university and vocational
courses teach the skills and specialist knowledge industry needs for projects such as
Future Submarine, Future Frigate and Land 400 armoured vehicles.
Initial consortium members include the University of South Australia, University
of Adelaide, Flinders University, RMIT University, Edith Cowan University, TAFE South
Australia and Western Australia’s TAFE South Metropolitan, with industry members
Defence Teaming Centre and the Indigenous Defence Consortium.
Defence Teaming Centre CEO and DIESC spokesperson Margot Forster said
the consortium would enable Australian education providers to tune their courses to
identified industry needs.
“We know that we have good products in terms of the graduates that come
from the vocational and higher education systems, but it’s about 80 per cent right,”
Ms Forster said. “We’re looking for industry to tell us what they need in terms of the
skills and capabilities of graduates. It’s in that last couple of years of a course, when
students receive a contextualised education, that we can create a high value product
for industry.”
The DIESC launch included a panel discussion combining academic leaders
with executives from shipbuilders Naval Group, Navantia, Fincantieri, Austal and BAE
Systems, moderated by EY Oceania Defence Leader Rowan Moffitt, former Deputy
Chief of Navy and past head of Australia’s Future Submarine Program.
“DIESC is a very sensible initiative at just the right time,” Mr. Moffitt said.
“The Government’s continuous naval shipbuilding aspiration will require a great deal
of coordinated effort across many elements of Australia’s working world. Critical to
achieving that will be bringing those elements together into focused conversations
involving education, industry and Government at all levels.”
Through its members the consortium has access to a host of programs and
courses from STEM outreach in schools to vocational training, trade certificates, higher
education, short courses and professional education and research programs, many in
collaboration with Defence.
They range from the University of Adelaide’s Big Day In, aimed at year nine
to year 12 secondary students, to RMIT’s In2science program which places university
students as peer mentors in Victorian low socio-economic schools. TAFE offers specialist
vocational skills such as fork lift driver licences and diplomas in electrical engineering,
project management, leadership and purchasing. The University of South Australia
has developed a submarine design and acquisition course for naval architects and
engineers, while Edith Cowan University offers targeted training across business areas
such as asset and supply chain management.
Speaking at the Submarine Institute of Australia’s 2017 SubSTEC4 submarine
technology conference in Adelaide in November, University of Adelaide Director of
Defence and Security Professor Michael Webb said shipbuilding and associated courses
were already seeing increased interest from both prospective students and industry
partners seeking a pipeline of suitably qualified graduates.
“The Masters in Marine Engineering is one that has more than doubled its intake
recently as you might expect and is one we have developed and teach in collaboration
with the Australian Submarine Corporation,” Webb told the Adelaide audience. “We’re
also exploring a number of shared teaching options with international partners and
others in France, with support from the Naval Group internship program in France.”
Webb said the DIESC consortium’s major aims included:
• Designing, implementing and commissioning an end-to-end talent identification
and development ecosystem.
• Monitoring, adjusting and adding to the suite of educational programs available
through consortium members, informed by robust data from industry about the
numbers and kinds of skilled personnel needed.
• Developing new pathways across VET and universities for providing defence
industry specific careers awareness.
He believes the development of education programs must be accompanied by
a communications program to inform Australia’s next generation that defence and
shipbuilding offer strong careers. And on that point, we have some work to do.
“There are a number of opportunities here where defence and defence industry
can play a role in helping universities build and strengthen the pipeline,” Webb said.
“A key opportunity involves helping change public perception of job availability. I think
this is as much about career possibilities being visible as it is about them actually being
available. You would be amazed at how little brand recognition there is among most
students when it comes to defence companies.
“The skills challenge is a national one and any solution needs to be approached
collaboratively. Industry cannot rely on government to generate a workforce. We must
be proactive and embark on a significant recruitment campaign that markets the
defence industry as the career of choice for all members of the community. We can’t
leave it to chance.”