Australia’s engineering workforce will be critical to delivering the AUKUS partnership and supporting increasingly complex defence technologies, according to Engineers Australia Chief Engineer Katherine Richards AM CSC.
Speaking at the Submarine Institute of Australia Conference in Adelaide, Richards said Australia’s ability to deliver AUKUS would depend on its capacity to attract and retain engineers with the skills required to integrate, operate and maintain advanced systems.
“AUKUS won’t succeed on technology alone. It will succeed on engineering capability,” Richards said.
While AUKUS is commonly associated with nuclear-powered submarines, Richards said the partnership also involves artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, advanced cyber capabilities and autonomous systems.
“When most Australians hear AUKUS, they think submarines. But AUKUS is also about artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, advanced cyber capabilities and autonomous systems,” she said.
“The common thread across all of them is people, and more specifically, engineers.”
According to Engineers Australia, the country’s engineering workforce currently numbers around 430,000 professionals, while up to 70,000 engineers are expected to retire over the next decade. The organisation also said engineering employment is projected to grow significantly.
Richards said engineers would continue to play an important role as artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies become more widely incorporated into Defence and critical infrastructure.
“We need engineers with the technical expertise, professional judgement and leadership capability required to safely manage increasingly sophisticated systems,” she said.
Engineers Australia said addressing future workforce needs would require action before students reach university, with Richards calling for improved mathematics outcomes and greater participation in mathematics during Years 10 and 11.
“If we are serious about delivering our defence, energy and technology ambitions, improving maths outcomes must be a national priority,” Richards said.
She added that students making decisions about mathematics study today would form part of the future workforce supporting engineering, cybersecurity, AI and systems integration.
“AUKUS has accelerated a national conversation about submarines and technology. It has also sparked a conversation about people and whether Australia is prepared to build the engineering capability needed to make it happen,” Richards said.
“That work must start now,” she stated.
