The world’s largest software engineering company, Dassault Systemes, has visited Northern Adelaide’s St Patrick’s Technical College to take a closer look at the school’s innovative approach to developing technical and trade skills in senior secondary students.
Dassault Systemes’ Geo Leader, Business Transformation Asia Pacific South Narayan Sreenivasan visited the College recently to meet with Principal Danny Deptula and Toni Hartley, who is the College’s Industry Partnership Manager and Skilling Australia Foundation’s Northern Adelaide P-TECH Industry Liaison Officer.
Mr Sreenivasan said Adelaide’s potential to become a manufacturing hub was huge with the area already boasting a talented workforce.
“Adelaide could become a hub for us because we see a lot of new talent and huge potential to grow supply chains in Australia and across the Asia Pacific,’’ he said.
Mr Sreenivasan said Adelaide already had the skilled workforce capable of serving today’s market but there was great capacity for more jobs in the future.
Northern Economic Plan Director Laki Kondylas said developing pathways for Northern Adelaide young people from school to the emerging industries was important to ensure the region benefited from the massive growth expected in the future.
“We think it’s pretty important to create pathways for people in defence industries. Defence industries in South Australia has a huge potential for growth and we are working to ensure we have appropriately skilled workforce available to take up those jobs,” Mr Kondylas said.
Dassault Systemes has announced Adelaide would support the delivery of a Virtual Shipyard Training Project. The company’s new Adelaide centre is expected to open by the second quarter of 2018.
Over the past few weeks, StPatsTech has also hosted other industry leaders at its $15-million purpose-built facility.
Representatives from the Defence Science and Technology Group (DST Group) toured the College with a particular focus on the new Information Technology course which is being run in partnership with TAFE SA and Saab Australia under the $5.1 million P-TECH Australia program.
DST Group has been a strong industry supporter of the College since it opened in 2007. One of the College’s first intake of students completed his apprenticeship with organisation.