AUKUS training on full tilt as Aussie workers head to Pearl Harbor, Government announces $4.5b payment to UK

More than 100 West Australians will head to Pearl Harbor next year to join American submarine workers and learn how to maintain the new nuclear-powered boats that are headed down under.

Defence Minister Richard Marles announced the Government would be giving more than $4.5b to the United Kingdom as its share of the costs to double the size of the Rolls Royce factory building the nuclear power units for the SSN-AUKUS.

Australia has already said it would give $US3 billion to help expand its industrial base in building the Virginia class submarines. Workforce shortages have hampered submarine-building efforts in both the United States and the UK.

Australia, the UK and the United States have chosen the government-owned shipbuilder ASC as the company to sustain nuclear submarines, the defence ministers of the three AUKUS partners will announce on Friday.

They have also formally decided the SSN-AUKUS submarines will be built by a new joint venture between ASC and British Defence contracting giant BAE Systems.

The decision gives the Australian Government a seat at the table throughout the decades of submarine building, with the intention to set up a structure that can underpin a “forever” construction program.

“The announcement of the sovereign submarine build and sustainment partners is opening up more avenues for Australian industry and jobs,” Defence Minister Richard Marles said.

He will make the announcement alongside UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps on Friday.

While it will likely take a couple of years to nut out the legal structure of the new joint venture, Australia is pushing ahead with new programs to recruit and skill up the workers it needs.

Under the AUKUS plan, a rotational force of US and UK nuclear-powered submarines will be based at HMAS Stirling starting in 2027.

In the second stage, Australia expects to buy at least three of the US Virginia class boats, then the UK and eventually Australia start building a new SSN-AUKUS design of submarine.

The early rotational force phase of the plan means ASC’s sustainment workforce in WA will more than double in size over the next decade so it can service the visiting boats.

To start giving workers the experience they need to deal with nuclear-powered submarines, ASC will send people overseas for placements, including next year at the Pearl Habor naval shipyard in Hawaii.

The Government is helping small Defence industry businesses to meet US and UK supply chain standards so their products can be used in the submarines. An initial 26 Australian firms, including six from WA, are involved.

There is also a new “train the trainers” international placements program, including an anticipated five staff from the South Metropolitan TAFE who are expected to head to the US later this year to learn the skills needed to teach others how to work on the nuclear submarines.

“It is particularly significant that the worst work undertaken by Australian industry in relation to the build and sustainment program will be for our AUKUS partners, underscoring the immense opportunities for Australian industry and workers,” Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said.

On the recruitment side, school leavers and entry-level workers will have the chance to try their hand at welding with an aptitude testing program and bridging courses aiming to scoop up people who might be interested in trying out shipbuilding.

The pilot schemes aim to learn from the “attraction activities” of AUKUS partners – such as the work by UK company Babcock to retrain lower skilled staff to join its shipbuilding workforce.

Workforce shortages have hampered submarine building efforts in the US and UK.