News

A new $28 million national security centre will be established at TAFE SA Regency campus, jointly funded by the state and federal governments.

The National Security TAFE Centre of Excellence will develop training programs focused on improving Australia’s national security and information security readiness across electrotechnology, electronics and engineering training, while supporting workforce development in emerging industries through partnerships with employers, unions, universities and research institutes.

Upskilling the state’s current and future technicians to make them job ready to work on AUKUS will be a key focus of the Centre. This will include partnering with UK and US education institutes to transfer advanced technology training and developing new qualifications with industry relevant to Australia’s defence industry.

The new training facility will allow tradies and apprentices to get hands on experience working on automated technologies, artificial intelligence, robotics, and virtual reality tools to prepare them for occupations such as electricians, engineering technicians, mechanical fitters, welders and boilermakers, with a focus on how these workforces safeguard critical infrastructure.

The Centre will also train students and apprentices to address physical and digital threats to critical infrastructure and will support the defence, space, manufacturing, electronics, and energy and water industries.

This will include developing new training courses and microcredentials to upskill tradies and apprentices on cyber security in an increasingly complex world, and how to prevent threats when working on national security projects and infrastructure.

The Australian and South Australian Governments are each investing $14 million to establish the Centre, funded under the National Skills Agreement (NSA).