Weld Australia, AWS strengthen AUKUS capability
31st August 2026
Weld Australia has joined forces with the American Welding Society (AWS) in a strategic partnership aimed at strengthening Australia’s welding, fabrication and advanced manufacturing capability for AUKUS and defence projects.
The organisations have signed a Memorandum of Understanding and Agency Agreement covering workforce development, certification, technical collaboration and advanced manufacturing.
Under the Agency Agreement, Weld Australia will become AWS’s preferred Australian partner for agreed AUKUS, defence and shipbuilding opportunities, providing a framework for cooperation across training, certification, engineering support, technical standards and qualification alignment.
Weld Australia CEO Geoff Crittenden said the skills and industrial capability required to support AUKUS extended well beyond construction of nuclear-powered submarines.
“AUKUS is often described as a submarine program, but for Australian industry it is much bigger than that,” Crittenden said.
“It is a whole-of-nation capability uplift across welding, engineering, inspection, training, certification, advanced manufacturing and supply chain resilience.”
Crittenden said Australia needed trusted international partners with technical expertise and established systems to help build domestic capability.
The partnership will give Australian industry greater access to AWS expertise while focusing on developing Australian companies and workers rather than importing an overseas solution.
Weld Australia director of strategic partnerships Ben Mitchell said Australia, the United States and United Kingdom faced similar challenges, including workforce shortages, ageing trades, defence manufacturing growth, technology adoption and skills modernisation.
“Sovereign capability does not mean working alone. It means building trusted capability with trusted partners,” Mitchell said.
AWS brings expertise in certification, education, standards and professional development, while Weld Australia contributes local industry knowledge, engineering capability, training delivery and links with Australian defence and manufacturing supply chains.
AWS CEO Carey Chen said international cooperation would be important in developing welding capability across allied industrial supply chains.
“This partnership with Weld Australia provides a practical pathway to support workforce development, standards alignment and industrial capability in Australia, particularly in relation to AUKUS, defence and shipbuilding,” Chen said.
The agreement forms part of Weld Australia’s wider international collaboration strategy, which includes relationships with organisations in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Italy.
Crittenden said access to international expertise would help Australian industry prepare for the demands of defence, shipbuilding and advanced manufacturing over the coming decade.