Queensland’s high-tech workforce ready for LAND 400

Queensland’s highly skilled workforce is ready and able to take up the jobs heading to our state thanks to expanding defence and aviation sectors.

Minister for State Development, Manufacturing, Infrastructure and Planning Cameron Dick said the success of the Palaszczuk Government’s $513 million Advance Queensland initiative was ensuring Queensland had the experienced engineers and other skilled staff to deliver projects like Boeing’s autonomous systems program and should they be successful with their bid, Rheinmetall’s Land 400 project.

“We have the highly skilled and technical workforce for these and other innovative and high-tech projects,” Mr Dick said.

“South East Queensland has specialist land defence-related capability with companies like Elbit Systems, Harris Defence, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman, L3 Micreo and Hilton Manufacturing locating their centres of expertise in Brisbane.

“Additionally, Thales, Boeing, Airbus Military, Bombardier, RUAG, TAE Aerospace, Insitu Pacific, EM Solutions and EPE have accessed advanced manufacturing and design professionals in the Brisbane-to-Amberley corridor.

“The steady stream of defence projects awarded to companies in this area continues to attract new people, increasing the capacity and capability of the workforce.

“The Palaszczuk Government is creating an environment of opportunity and is providing the necessary policy confidence and surety to drive investment and expansion in Queensland.”

South East Queensland is home to Australia’s largest heavy vehicle manufacturing and sustainment hub, where Volvo manufactured 3000 trucks last year.

Skilled Queensland workers are also currently undertaking the Army’s largest acquisition of logistics trucks through the LAND 121 Phase 3B project, which will deliver 2500 trucks, 1700 trailers and 300 fuel and water tanks.

“We are committed to meeting the future workforce needs of companies like Rheinmetall and Boeing,” Mr Dick said.

“Our education system has a strong plan for the direction of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) schooling.

“The Palaszczuk Government’s Jobs Queensland initiative is making the state’s vocational education and training one of the strongest and most productive in the nation.

“We are producing more home-grown engineers compared to southern states, as recent Australian Bureau of Statistics and Federal Education Department figures confirm.

“Last year alone, 5300 new engineering jobs were created in Queensland and we have more engineers and other technical students coming through our tertiary institutions.

Mr Dick said Queensland is performing well above the corresponding national rate in commencement and completion rates for post-graduate engineering courses over the past 10 years.

“We also are running well above national trends in the number of domestic students starting and completing entry level tertiary engineering and related technologies courses,” he said.

“In 2015, three-quarters of all students completing engineering and related technologies courses across all qualifications from Queensland tertiary institutions were domestic students.”

Managing Director of Rheinmetall Defence Australia, Gary Stewart said Queensland has the demonstrated ability, programs and industry to meet the challenge of delivering a project the scale and scope of LAND 400 Phase 2.

“The decision to locate our proposed Military Vehicle Centre of Excellence in the midst of such a strong industry ecosystem here in South East Queensland was very straightforward,” Mr Stewart said.

“We will have access to a broad skill set across both technical and trades, people with experience in manufacturing, fabrication and testing, and professional trades, engineers that can do software coding, design, validation and innovation, it’s all here.”

The Queensland Government is supporting a strong vocational education sector through TAFE Queensland, the largest public provider of trade and technical training in Australia.

Mr Dick said the Government’s specialists in Defence Industries Queensland continued to work closely with relevant regional councils on supply chain and skilling opportunities to support major defence projects and the large and growing Australian Defence Force presence in Queensland.

“It’s no secret that Queensland is an attractive place to live and work, and we are leading the nation with a net interstate migration of 17,400 people in the year ending 30 June 2017,” Mr Dick said.

“There is no doubt that Queensland has everything required for Rheinmetall Defence Australia to successfully deliver LAND 400 Phase 2 and beyond.”

ENDS

Media contact: Cath Palmer, 0424 823 424