South Australia’s defence and space industries are growing at the speed of light, creating a universe of career opportunities for today’s emerging workforce.

In the coming years, South Australia will be home to a number of major naval shipbuilding projects, creating up to 5000 jobs by 2030, along with thousands of jobs across defence delivering world-class cyber and systems solutions as well as intelligence including surveillance, reconnaissance and electronic warfare capabilities.

From project management, combat systems engineering, contracts management, Information Technology, marketing, logistics and more, there’s a variety of rewarding defence industry careers available.

According to Georgia, who works as a systems engineer at one of South Australia’s largest defence companies BAE Systems Australia, there’s never a dull moment working in the defence industry.

“I love that I’m able to work with others to solve problems that have an impact and make a difference every day while still being able to learn new things,” Georgia said.

“There’s so much happening within the South Australia’s defence industry, it will only keep on growing with all the innovative ideas here.”

Home to more than 100 space-related companies, the Australian Space Agency, Mission Control Centre and the future Australian Space Park, South Australia also has a rapidly growing space industry.

There are more than 1,400 people working across different roles in the industry, from space scientists, propulsion and robotic engineers to data and Artificial Intelligence analysts, software developers and space lawyers.

For software engineer David, who works on space-related projects at Silentium Defence, the best part about working in the state’s space industry is the diversity of work and the satisfaction that comes with solving real-world problems with state-of-the-art technology.

“It never feels like work for the sake of work, there is a real purpose behind what we do; and being on the cutting-edge of technology in our sector really helps me feel the impact of what we’re doing,” he said.

“We’re seeing amazing stuff already from the space industry here and we’ve still barely begun to scratch the surface. I’m very excited to see the space industry here grow for many years to come and for South Australia to become a world leader in space innovation.”

Whether you are in school, close to finishing school or looking for a career change, there are a range of pathways to kick-start your career in South Australia’s defence and space industries and you don’t have to study at university to get involved.

Keen to find out more? Key South Australian defence and space industry employers as well as representatives from the Naval Shipbuilding College and the Australian Space Agency will be at the defence and space industries zone at the Adelaide Careers and Employment Expo. Stop by to discuss career pathways and opportunities for students and skilled workers and join in on a range of presentations to discover where a career in space or defence could lead you.

Learn more about finding your place in defence or space here.