BAE Systems Australia’s airframe depot on Williamstown will hire “another 200 engineers and technicians” as the firm prepares for the arrival of the first Joint Strike Fighter planes in 2018.
The defence contractor currently manufactures precision titanium parts for the planes at Adelaide, and announced in February last year that it was appointed maintenance, repair, overhaul and upgrade provider.
Of the 72 planes the federal government will acquire for $12.4 billion, 56 will be based at the Williamstown site.
The Australian reports that BAE currently hires around 120 working directly on the JSF program, with this to increase to 400 during full production in late-2018. Steve Drury, BAE Systems Australia aerospace director, said another 200 engineers and technicians would be needed at Williamstown.
“We’re already thinking about where those people will be coming from,” he told The Australian.
“We have an apprentice program that will have to grow and we have open days for the local high schools to help people realise there are good opportunities to be in an engineering role for F35s.”