ADM’s fifth STEM in Defence Summit took place in Brisbane on 15 August, where delegates from Defence, SMEs, Primes, and academia gathered to discuss the future of the Defence workforce.
Following a Welcome to Country by Songwoman Maroochy Barambah of the local Turrbal People, delegates heard from the first keynote speaker Dr Melanie Fuller, Director of Workforce Capability and Talent with Defence Science and Technology Group.
Dr Fuller set the scene for the rest of the day’s proceedings by highlighting why demand for the next generation of STEM workers is so pressing; Defence’s technology and capability is developing at a rapid rate.
“We're in a rapidly changing and deteriorating strategic environment where competition, and aggressive grey zone tactics are becoming increasingly common,” she said. “This, along with the rapid pace of technological change, are challenging Defence’s capability advantage.”
With rapid advances in artificial intelligence and autonomous systems, Defence will need to see a reshaping and reskilling of its workforce.
“We’re starting to see robots that can outperform humans in accuracy, in safety, and in speed. This means we're anticipating a change in our workforce needs. Where once we may have needed humans to perform a task – we’re now asking humans to develop and design systems and robots to take on these roles.”
Not only will Defence need a STEM-focused workforce to innovate these new capabilities, but to operate them too. For example, the rise in uncrewed vehicles will require a new workforce of pilots and captains who may not do their jobs from the sky or from the sea, but from remote locations – and instead of operating one platform, a single operator may be controlling a web of interconnected platforms. This will mean the diversity of tasks that a military fleet of aircraft, ships or ground vehicles are required to perform will expand.
The main areas where technological advances will change the way we operate on the battlefield, Dr Fuller expects, will be the areas of quantum technologies, space technologies, and directed-energy technologies, such as high-powered lasers.
Defence’s Head People Capability, Major General Wade Stothart, was next to take to the podium and impressed on delegates the ways in which the changing capabilities of the ADF will impact Defence recruitment.
“The Australian Defence Force will grow from its current size of around 60,000 to approximately 80,000 in 2040, while the Defence Public Service element of our workforce will grow from around 16,000 to approximately 20,000 over the same period.
“New and emerging technology that underpin broader capability outcomes will mean that Defence’s workforce will need to be more technical in nature.
“We’re also embarking on some areas that we haven't been in before, like nuclear engineering,” he added.
MAJGEN Stothart noted that the most significant areas of growth will be in aviation, communications and cyber, health, intelligence, and engineering and maintenance. Since all these workforce segments are predominantly STEM-based, STEM skills will be at the core of about 60 per cent of the ADF’s growth and about 62 per cent of the Defence Public Service’s growth.
A new Defence Force Recruiting Contract will be introduced to increase the volume and speed of new recruits, as well as the care that candidates are provided throughout the recruiting process.
“I think one of the most exciting aspects of the new Recruiting Services Contract is a ‘pathways’ option,” MAJGEN Stothart explained. “So, if we don't feel that meet our specific requirements for some reason, we want to make sure that there are options presented to that candidate for other contributions to Australia security.”
A running theme throughout the day was the criticality of engaging young people in STEM early – at primary and early high-school age, rather than university-level. Further, speakers stressed the importance of getting families, teachers and the community – the people influencing these STEM careers – on board.
“Girls consider their skills and abilities early. They work out whether they feel confident in science and maths – the foundations of engineering – and at time when they're building their views on gender,” Teresa Janowski, CEO and founder of STEM Fast Track said during a roundtable discussion.
“It’s a four-legged stool: family, industry, education and kids, and you need all four to come together. When I introduce myself as an engineer, most of the young girls say, ‘But you can’t be, you’re a girl!’. It’s all about changing perceptions, so I think early exposure, talking about it at home, is important. They need to know what STEM is, and to see the example.”
Delegates also heard from Dr Kelvin Ross from Queensland AI Hub about how AI and machine learning can transform the delivery of Defence capability, Deakin University and Hanwha Defense Australia on their R&D partnership, WGCDR Keirin Joyce from the RAAF on drone racing as an avenue for attracting young people to the ADF, and more.