WA Labor to deliver major AUKUS jobs, training and business boost

A re-elected Cook Labor Government will deliver a major jobs, training and business boost under a multi-million-dollar plan to maximise the game-changing AUKUS opportunities that will set up our State for the future.
  • Re-elected Cook Labor Government to establish $11.5 million AUKUS Defence Industry Incentive Scheme to train hundreds of apprentices for future jobs boom
  • WA Labor to establish $2 million Readiness Fund to help local businesses secure AUKUS opportunities
  • Complements the Defence Industry Skills Centre of Excellence which will be led by South Metropolitan TAFE (SMT) and jointly funded by the State and Federal governments
  • Builds on refreshed defence strategy which ensures a coordinated approach to growing our defence industries and delivering AUKUS in WA

A re-elected Cook Labor Government will deliver a major jobs, training and business boost under a multi-million-dollar plan to maximise the game-changing AUKUS opportunities that will set up our State for the future.

WA Labor will establish an $11.5 million Defence Industry Incentive Scheme to train hundreds of new apprentices so they are job-ready for the defence industry workforce boom that AUKUS and the defence precinct in Henderson are expected to generate.

The scheme will deliver $3 million to fund hundreds of “Lower Fees, Local Skills” training places at TAFE as well as extra lecturers and specialist equipment. It will also focus on training in the private sector, with $8.5 million to go towards a Defence Employer Incentive that will provide $20,000 grants to defence industry businesses that take on apprentices.

Workforce modelling is expected to confirm the new priority industry job roles will include:

  • Combat systems engineers,
  • Automation, robotics and mechatronics engineers,
  • Electrical, electronics, industrial, mechanical, software, structural and composite fabrication engineers,
  • Drafters, welders, scaffolders, riggers, crane operators and fitters, and
  • Cyber security specialists.

The Defence Industry Incentive Scheme is part of Roger Cook and WA Labor’s Made in WA plan to create the jobs of the future and make more things here.

A re-elected Cook Labor Government will also establish a $2 million Readiness Fund to support local small to medium businesses to prepare for and secure work on AUKUS projects. This will include ensuring those businesses comply with defence security and protocols.

There are currently 238 SMEs in WA that are directly involved in the defence industry.

WA Labor’s multi-million-dollar plan will complement the new Western Australian Defence and Defence Industry Strategy which sets out the WA Government's vision to increase the Australian

Defence Force’s footprint in the State and position the defence sector to grow and become one of the largest contributors to the State’s economy.

WA Labor’s commitments also build on the Defence Industry Skills Centre of Excellence, which will be led by South Metropolitan TAFE at campuses along the Western Trade Coast. It follows confirmation a consolidated defence precinct will be established at Henderson, which is expected to generate 10,000 jobs over the next two decades.

Read Roger Cook and WA Labor’s Made in WA plan

Comments attributed to Premier Roger Cook:

“Western Australia is on the cusp of a major economic transition and only WA Labor has a plan to set up our State for the future by ensuring we make the most of the opportunities AUKUS can deliver for generations to come.

“The Defence Industry Incentive Scheme is part of WA Labor’s Made in WA plan to create the jobs of the future and make more things here.

“The Henderson defence precinct is forecast to deliver 10,000 new jobs – that’s 10,000 high-paying jobs of the future that will provide exciting new career paths for WA workers and their families.

“I will always do what’s right for WA, which is why a re-elected Labor Government will ensure hundreds of apprentices are job-ready for what is expected be a major defence industry workforce boom that will deliver high-paying jobs of the future.

“AUKUS puts our State at the centre of the nation’s defence capability. That’s why WA Labor will support local businesses in what is an exciting new era as our economy evolves and diversifies.”

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