Weld Australia has signed a Memorandum of Understanding and Agency Agreement with the American Welding Society (AWS), in a move the organisations say is aimed at supporting welding, fabrication and advanced manufacturing capability tied to AUKUS, defence and shipbuilding work.
According to Weld Australia, the agreement is intended to create a framework for collaboration on workforce development, training pathways, certification, engineering support, technical standards, qualification alignment and industry engagement.
Weld Australia CEO Geoff Crittenden said the agreement reflected the scale of the industrial capability challenge facing Australia as AUKUS progresses beyond submarines into broader workforce and supply chain requirements. “AUKUS is often described as a submarine program, but for Australian industry it is much bigger than that. It is a whole-of-nation capability uplift across welding, engineering, inspection, training, certification, advanced manufacturing and supply chain resilience,” Crittenden said.
Under the Agency Agreement, Weld Australia will become AWS’s preferred Australian partner for agreed AUKUS, defence and shipbuilding opportunities, according to the organisations.
Weld Australia said the partnership is also part of a broader international collaboration strategy, citing links with organisations including TWI in the United Kingdom, TÜV NORD in Germany and the Italian Institute of Welding, alongside other partners across certification, training, research and technology.
Ben Mitchell, Weld Australia’s Director of Strategic Partnerships, said the agreement was intended to help align capability development across Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom amid shared industrial challenges including workforce shortages and defence manufacturing growth. “Sovereign capability does not mean working alone. It means building trusted capability with trusted partners. This agreement between AWS and Weld Australia helps create the framework for that,” Mitchell said.
AWS Executive Director and CEO Carey Chen said the partnership would support workforce development and standards alignment in Australia, “particularly in relation to AUKUS, defence and shipbuilding”.
