A/AA Skills Summit - Skilling for the Future

The second A/AA Skills Summit was held on Tuesday 24 October 2017 at the RACV City Club in Melbourne. Following on from its inauguariton in 2012, we revisted the skills landscape following the theme of 'Skilling for the Future'.

Sponsored by Australian Industry Standards (AIS) the summit featured a diverse range of professionals from civil and military, with aviation and HR backgrounds each providing their own insight into gaps within the industry and sharing ideas, case studies and proposing solutions on how to combat an industry-wide skills shortage.


‘We must emphasise Diversity of Thought in Skilling the Future. The 4G’s: Generation; Geography; Gender & Genre' – Naomi Mathers, Deputy Chair, Space Industry Association of Australia & Linda Spurr, MC (right to left)

With the theme of the summit being Skilling for the Future, much of the discussion was around Automation and Artificial Intelligence and its impact on the changing workforce. Rapid advancement in technology dictates that individuals now need to be prepared to have multiple careers through their lifetime. Nicolette Barnard (Head of HR Pacific, Siemens) spoke on how the workforce must be adaptable and we must re-think the way we look at training the future generations. From apprenticeship to university, curriculums need to be re-designed to prepare individuals for an ever-changing career, making them adaptable from the get-go. As an industry, we must take the lead.


'The question is not will a robot take your job, it’s how will you engage with the robot once it takes your job' - Nicolette Barnard, Head of HR Pacific, Siemens

Dan Minton (Industry Manager - Aviation, AIS) also emphasised that while it's important we focus on having enough skilled workers on the ground to manage and develop existing and emerging technologies, we must develop instructors and trainers to maintain the flow of skill. They are currently at a deficit and without educators the demand cannot be fulfilled and sustained.

The event was attended by over 40 representatives from Industry and each session provided an opportunity for in-depth Q&A with the speakers/panellists, generating a more interactive ideas-sharing environment. We are putting together a report of the day's discussions and key themes which be made available to members shortly. 



Thank you to all speakers and panellists: 
/ Robert Adams, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Industry Standards
/ Dr Naomi Mathers, Deputy Chair, Space Industry Association of Australia
/ Dan Minton, Industry Manager - Aviation, Australia Industry Standards  
/ Adrian Lutze, General Manager - Aircraft Maintenance & Support, BAE Systems Australia
/ Steve Witheford, Group Captain, Director Workforce Planning - Air Force (DWP-AF)
/ Nicolette Barnard, Head of HR Pacific, Siemens
/ Trevor Kistan, Research and Technology manager, Technical Directoriat Air Traffic Management, Thales Australia
/ Jane Snewin, Human Resources Manager - Lockheed Martin Australia 
/ Linda Spurr, Director - Aviation/Aerospace Australia

A special thank you as well to our events sponsors Australian Industry Standards.