A multinational company with legs in Margate Tasmania.  A world class training organisation with arms State-wide.  Let TAFE Tasmania help grow your empire.

Austal Ships is an Australian owned world leading shipbuilder with shipyards scattered across the globe.  With supreme production facilities in Western Australia, and Alabama in the United States, Margate Tasmania has recently been added to its impressive and internationally renowned portfolio.

Austal only moved to Tasmania a little over a year ago and started with 30 staff.  Today Austal proudly maintains 145.

Austal sees training and development as a way to foster personal and professional growth.  Training is very clearly about staff morale and fulfilment, which leads to company loyalty and a superior product.

“Austal Ships is constantly reviewing training options, and is also on the look out for people who wish to develop into other roles, and into leadership positions.

“Our staff are our leaders of the future,” Fritz Shoemaker, Business Administrator said.

Austal also sees benefits in getting the Tasmanian workforce qualified in a trade to address the skills shortage and improve productivity.

“We have a program called BOOST for people who are in the workforce but have no trade, giving them the opportunity to get qualified.

“We rotate them for 12 months throughout each of our departments as a trade assistant, and then may offer them a mature aged apprenticeship,” Mr Shoemaker said.

Austal also have short course training conducted on-site by TAFE Tasmania, which flexibly addresses their training needs around business operations.

TAFE Tasmania also trains all Austral apprentices.

“My experience with TAFE so far has been very professional.  They have a liaison area which ‘solves’ problems if they arise, and that has been very successful,” Mr Shoemaker said.