Luerssen and local shipbuilders to back Australian maritime skills and education

Luerssen and local shipbuilders to back Australian maritime skills and education Young Australians will learn critical new skills and expertise with the support of one the world’s leading shipbuilders as part of a scholarship and vocational education program aimed at meeting the demands of a continuous naval shipbuilding industry. Luerssen Australia has joined forces with its local partners – ASC Shipbuilding and Civmec/Forgacs – to announce a Shipbuilding Education and Apprenticeship (SEA) program. Applications from across Australia will be called for from 2018 for scholarships from undergraduates in relevant engineering, marine architecture and design courses as well as for sponsored vocational study for apprentices and tradespeople to achieve higher TAFE qualifications. Luerssen, together with ASC Shipbuilding and Forgacs, are bidding for the Australian Government’s SEA1180 Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) program. The SEA scholarship program would also include workplace placements in Australia and Europe for selected scholarship recipients with Luerssen, ASC Shipbuilding and Forgacs, to develop professional experience. The program is designed to support the OPV’s workforce skilling requirements, should Luerssen, ASC Shipbuilding and Forgacs prove successful in the OPV tender. Luerssen and its Australian partners anticipate the program would complement the Government’s Naval Shipbuilding College initiative. Luerssen Defence Managing Director Dirk Malgowski said the German shipbuilder was delighted to assist in developing a highly skilled local workforce that will enable Australia to become a world-class shipbuilding hub. “With our partners in the Offshore Patrol Vessel program, Luerssen is dedicated to ensuring young Australians can learn a range of skills to set them up for a satisfying and rewarding life-long career,” Mr Malgowski said. “I have no doubt Australia can build a world class workforce that can assist Luerssen, our partners – indeed every shipbuilder looking to hire – in taking advantage of the Government’s national shipbuilding endeavor”, Mr Malgowski said. Chief Executive Officer – ASC Shipbuilding, Mark Lamarre, said the exciting new program builds on the South Australian company’s existing commitments to building a skills base that will ensure Australia can become an export hub for shipbuilding. “ASC Shipbuilding is engaged in ensuring Australia can sustain a future naval shipbuilding industry that will offer fresh opportunities for school-leavers and others wishing to embark on an exciting career in shipbuilding,” Mr Lamarre said. “This initiative will build on, and complement, our existing collaborations with South Australian universities, graduate and school-based programs.” Managing Director of Forgacs Marine and Defence, Mike Deeks said with ten of the 12 OPVs to be built at Henderson in Western Australia – and with Luerssen already collaborating to establish an export hub for minor warship vessels in Australia – WA stands to reap generational rewards from this program. “We want to see hundreds – if not thousands – of Australians employed over coming years in what I believe will become a significant job creator, not just in Western Australia and South Australia but right across the nation,” Mr Deeks said.