Higher education students or graduates
So you’re at university, TAFE, studying with a Vocational Education Provider or recently qualified and you want to start your career with the defence industry? There are a range of pathways for you to take in order to fast track your career in defence industry in South Australia. You have come to the right place…
The South Australian Government is making it easier for university students to enter a career in the state’s growing defence industry with the Premier’s Defence Industry Scholarships Program. Eligible students can earn a scholarship to support a research or work placement with a South Australian defence industry host company. A grant of up to $10,000 will be made available to each student for the duration of the placement and can be used to support expenses associated with the placement.
The Department of Defence offers a range of opportunities for graduates to gain work experience in the department through the Defence Graduate Program.
Opportunities are available across a range of career streams, with each stream tailored to provide excellent learning and career progression opportunities to propel you into your future career with confidence.
For those with a STEM background, Defence offers tertiary students a range of placement opportunities with the Defence Science and Technology Group. These placements provide valuable industry experience and can offer a pathway for an ongoing STEM career in Defence. The STEM cadetship program, for example provides high performing tertiary students a head start into a defence industry career, offering an entry-level employment pathway for those studying a relevant STEM degree.
Defence funds a number of scholarships at universities around Australia to support emerging researchers and STEM professionals. These scholarships can also provide a pathway to full-time employment in Defence.
FIND OUT MORE > at www.defence.gov.au/JobsPeople
The Defence Teaming Centre delivers the Defence Industry Leadership Program each year with over 242 participants having graduated from the program since its inception in 2010. The program provides targeted, hands on, professional development that gives employees in the defence industry with personal and professional leadership skills.
BMT is a leading international design, engineering, science and risk management consultancy who offer a number of industry specific training courses to support your learning and development needs.
Adelaide is home to the Australian Institute of Machine Learning (AIML), bringing together researchers and industry to provide big data capability with the potential to make the nation safer and more secure. AIML offers a range of postgraduate academic programs managed through the School of Computer Science and undergraduate programs are in development.
Ongoing partnerships with Australia’s largest and most complex defence programs give Flinders graduates the chance to further develop their skills in real world circumstances with Masters & PHD opportunities in defence-orientated fields exist across all disciplines.
Flinders was a finalist in the Defence Connect Australian Industry awards for Academic Institution of the year 2019 – as a result of their strong links to industry.

Defence Industry Jobs
Check out the employment pages of some of South Australia’s leading defence industry primes and see what jobs are available now:
- Naval Group
- BAE Systems
- ASC Shipbuilding (a subsidiary of BAE Systems Australia)
- ASC
- Babcock
- Saab
- Lockheed Martin Australia
- Luerssen Australia
- Raytheon

Graduate Traineeship Programs
A number of defence companies in South Australia offer fantastic graduate and traineeship programs to get your foot in the door in the defence industry.
- The Lockheed Martin Graduate Development Program is designed to expose you to unique learning opportunities, while contributing to stimulating, ground breaking projects.
- Raytheon Australia’s innovative and unique GradX program will initially see ten undergraduates from varying disciplines join Raytheon in their last year of study, with a guaranteed full time position upon completion of their degree.
- The ASC Graduate Program is a two-year program exposing graduates to many disciplines within the organisation business, and enables graduates to work closely with senior staff from a variety of different backgrounds and fields.
- Naval Group Australia and ASC have partnered to deliver a two year engineering graduate program which will be based at ASC in Osborne SA. The program will provide graduates access to the brightest and most experienced submarine engineers in Australia.
The DEWC School of Information Operations provides specialised training and workshops focussed in the areas of Electronic Warfare (EW), Communications, EW operation support, Cyber, Maritime Operations and other emerging areas that meet the requirements of government, defence and high-tech industry related sectors.
Are you already working in the defence industry and want to further your career?
The University of South Australia has a new pathway program to senior engineering and leadership positions through the new Master of Defence Systems Integration
In the Saab Australia-UniSA Defence Technologies Institute, defence sector professionals will be able to upskill and build on their existing knowledge.
Adelaide University has designed a new course in conjunction with the Defence Teaming Centre building upon the content of the existing and successful South Australian Defence Industry Leadership Program (SADILP). As a defence industry specific leadership program, the Professional Certificate in Defence Industry Leadership covers key areas such as self-leadership, ethics, networks, collaboration, dealing with complexity and managing change. Successful completion of the certificate may provide credit into the University of Adelaide’s prestigious MBA program.
The University of Adelaide now offers a Graduate Diploma, Graduate Certificate or Masters of Marine Engineering, created and delivered in partnership with the ASC . With $89 billion of planned defence spending on submarines and surface ships over the coming years in South Australia, there has never been a better time to advance your career in this rapid growth sector.
With governments and organisations all over the world actively seeking cyber security experts with advanced technical skills and an understanding of the social and legal contexts of the digital world, The University of Adelaide’s Master of Cyber Security is a valuable tool for up-skilling in a fast growing sector.