AUKUS Workforce Alliance: Australia’s Next Big Move

So, guess what? The AUKUS industry and Australian academia have teamed up to form a cool new thing called the AUKUS Workforce Alliance (AWA). It’s like a squad made up of submarine experts from the UK and the US, along with some brainy folks from Australian universities like Adelaide, Curtin, and New South Wales. They’re all coming together to share their smarts about nuclear submarines, thanks to this agreement that Australia, the UK, and the US made back in September 2021.

The whole idea behind this program is to hook Australia up with the knowledge and resources to get and keep nuclear-powered attack submarines. The plan is to use these subs to keep the Chinese military in check and protect the interests of the West in the Indo-Pacific. The AWA is all about getting a skilled crew ready to help Australia make its way to having its own nuclear-powered subs under the AUKUS Pillar I. This Pillar I thing is all about Australia getting its hands on conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines, while Pillar II is about developing and sharing top-notch military skills together.

According to Michael Lempke, the big cheese at HII’s Nuclear and Environment services group, the AWA is a way of investing in Australia’s security, as well as its economic and technological progress. It’s like a win-win-win situation!

Now, here’s the scoop on why this whole thing is happening. It’s all about getting Australia’s workforce ready for the nuclear submarine scene. You’d think that the AUKUS industry peeps would have come up with this plan a while ago, right? But it turns out that the top dogs in the defence industry have been more focused on other techie stuff lately. According to the brainy folks at GlobalData, the hot topics in the defence world right now are things like blockchains, hypersonic technologies, quantum computing, and other cool concepts. It seems like the defence industry is all about these things and not so much about nuclear development and AUKUS-related themes.

But don’t worry, the AUKUS gang is on it! British companies like Babcock, BAE Systems, and Rolls-Royce are already teaching a bunch of Aussies about the nuclear submarine game in the UK. This new AWA thing is all about speeding up the learning process right here in Australia. The goal is to open up more tech jobs in Australia and make sure the country doesn’t fall behind in the AUKUS game.

So, that’s the lowdown on the AUKUS Workforce Alliance and why it’s a big deal for Australia. It’s all about getting ready for the future and making sure Australia is at the top of its game in the AUKUS crew. Exciting stuff, right?