Western Australia is home to the Defence Industry Skills Centre of Excellence

The establishment of a Defence Precinct at Henderson is set to underpin tens of billions of dollars of investment in defence capabilities in Western Australia over the next two decades. This major commitment will support the growth of an expanded defence industry, creating well-paid, highly-skilled jobs across the State.

To help meet this growing workforce demand, the State and Commonwealth Governments have jointly invested $14.6 million to establish the Defence Industry Skills Centre of Excellence.

This joint investment will establish Western Australia as the nation’s leader in defence industry workforce development and position the State at the centre of Australia’s sovereign defence capability.

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Centre of Excellence

Helping to shape the defence industry workforce

Join the defence industry workforce
 

Centre of Excellence

The Defence Industry Skills Centre of Excellence will lead the design and delivery of training programs for the industry’s emerging skills needs, ensuring the State has a growing pipeline of skilled workers to deliver current and future Defence work. It will uplift training opportunities through curriculum innovation, training pathways and programs, and higher apprenticeships to skill, upskill and reskill Western Australians for defence industry roles.

Through delivering innovative training solutions, the Defence Industry Skills Centre of Excellence will develop the most highly educated and skilled defence industry workforce in the world.

Role

Defence Industry Skills Centre of Excellence will:

  • Inspire Western Australians to pursue defence industry careers to successfully undertake crucial defence work that will strengthen Australia’s sovereign defence capability.
  • Develop new curriculum, including a nuclear skills framework, higher apprenticeships, industry partnerships for defence projects such as the AUKUS Optimal Pathway and shipbuilding of the Navy’s Surface Combatant Fleet.
  • Co-design innovative ‘Train the Trainer’ approaches with industry, TAFE, and universities to train and upskill the VET practitioner workforce with the skills required for nuclear powered submarine sustainment. 
  • Improve training completions in defence industry qualifications and provide targeted training pathways for women and high-school students.
  • Provide intensive learner support and mentoring for priority cohorts, such as Aboriginal students, women, youth and people with disability.
  • Address other national priorities including gender equality and closing the gap. 
  • Collaborate with schools and TEAM WA universities to exchange expertise and enhance study pathways between TAFE, schools and WA universities into defence industry roles.
  • Provide industry with a gateway to access training and workforce development support to address defence industry skill requirements.
  • Collaborate with industry, unions, TAFE, universities, DefenceWest, Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, Department of Defence, Royal Australian Navy, Office of Defence Industry Support, AUKUS Skills and Training Academy, and the Australian Submarine Agency and deliver state-of-the-art training courses for the State’s defence industry.

Location

Defence Industry Skills Centre of Excellence will be led by South Metropolitan TAFE (SM TAFE), which was recognised as the nation’s leading defence industry trainer at the 2024 Defence Connect Australian Defence Industry Awards.

Defence Industry Skills Centre of Excellence will provide industry with a gateway to access training and workforce development support to address their skill requirements.

Industry and the community will have access to Defence Industry Skills Centre of Excellence services and training opportunities at SM TAFE’s strategically positioned campuses along the Western Trade Coast at Naval Base, Munster, Rockingham and Fremantle.

Learn more about Defence Industry Skills at SM TAFE

Priority

Continuous defence shipbuilding is set to begin in Henderson in 2026, with 1,100 workers needed to deliver the Army’s landing craft and another 1,200 jobs to be created over the next decade as work begins on delivering the Navy’s Surface Combatant Fleet. 

As early as 2027, the Submarine Rotational Force-West (SRF-West) initiative will begin operation at HMAS Stirling at Garden Island, which will require 500 skilled workers.

To ensure WA’s workforce is equipped to undertake nuclear-powered submarine maintenance and sustainment work and defence shipbuilding, Defence Industry Skills Centre of Excellence will develop and deliver AUKUS specific-skills and trades training at SM TAFE’s defence campuses at Naval Base, Munster, Rockingham and Fremantle as a priority. 

Person standing in front of screen with ships

Helping to shape the defence industry workforce

The Defence Industry Skills Centre of Excellence will collaborate with industry, unions, WA TAFE colleges, universities, government, training providers, Jobs and Skills Councils, and other stakeholders to lead the design and delivery of innovative training programs for the industry’s emerging skills needs.

In addition to developing new nuclear skills curriculum and strategy for  higher apprenticeships, the Centre of Excellence will collaborate with schools and TEAM WA universities to exchange expertise and enhance study pathways between TAFE, schools and Western Australian universities into defence industry roles. It will also focus on driving increased participation and completion of defence industry training qualifications and providing intensive learner supports and mentoring, including one-on-one tutoring.  

The  Defence Industry Skills Centre of Excellence will play a pivotal role in:

  • inspiring Western Australians to pursue defence industry careers;
  • increasing awareness of training and career pathways for defence industry jobs; and
  • promoting the benefits and opportunities of careers within the industry.

Contact the SM TAFE team to learn more about Defence Industry Skills Centre of Excellence. 

Join the Defence Industry Workforce

The defence industry offers well-paid and long-lasting jobs in trades, paraprofessional, professional and specialist roles.

Occupations span the fields of engineering, information and communication technology, project management and supply chain.

Within the next two to five years, skilled workers will be needed for key Defence projects including SRF-West and Australian Army and Navy shipbuilding, across a variety of fields such as:  

  • electrical trades;
  • mechanical and fabrication trades;
  • pipefitter and metrology advanced trades;
  • electrical, mechanical, software, and system safety engineering;
  • cyber security; 
  • detailer design;
  • electronics and communications;
  • entry-level nuclear skilled qualified and experienced personnel;
  • safety and certification (including nuclear); and 
  • non-destructive testing.

Find out more about defence industry training opportunities at SM TAFE  

Two people working at a computer

The Defence Industry Skills Centre of Excellence is a joint initiative between the Australian and Western Australian Governments under the National Skills Agreement.