Building the Next-Generation Composites Workforce

Australia’s ability to grow its composites manufacturing sector and remain globally competitive depends on a skilled, adaptable, and future-ready workforce. Developing the next generation of tradespeople, technicians, technologists, and engineers is essential to meeting the demands of innovation, automation, and advanced manufacturing.

Workforce development challenges are particularly acute in regional and non-metropolitan areas, where access to training remains limited. Educator shortages also pose a barrier, especially in delivering specialised composites training.

Composites Australia advocates for renewed investment in modernised training resources — including competency-based learning materials and assessment tools tailored to the needs of composite manufacturing. As automation becomes more prevalent, training content must keep pace. To address this, we are collaborating with national skills bodies to align curriculum with both traditional and emerging fabrication technologies.

As a member of the Manufacturing Industry Skills Alliance, Composites Australia is helping to establish structured learning pathways that support progression from entry-level short courses through to vocational qualifications, higher education, and research degrees. These pathways — supported by partnerships with TAFE, dual-sector universities, and industry — enable both horizontal movement across disciplines and vertical advancement through career stages. Credit alignment, curriculum mapping, and wraparound support are essential to making these pathways accessible, particularly for regional learners.

Investing in education and training today will ensure a composites workforce ready to lead tomorrow’s manufacturing innovation.

Institutes offering composites training

TAFE Training

The pathways to becoming a skilled Fibre Composite Technician (alternative titles can include Laminator, Composite Fabricator, Fibreglass Technician/Tradesperson and Shipwright) are generally a four-year Certificate III apprenticeship which include on-the-job training combined with practical experience of up to four years. The following trade qualifications are most relevant for composite technicians:

• Certificate III in Engineering – Composites Trade (MEM31119)
• Certificate III in Marine Craft Construction (MEM30719)
• Certificate III & IV in Polymer Technology (PMB50121)
• Certificate IV in Aeroskills (Structures) (MEA41318)
• Certificate III – IV in Recreational Vehicle Manufacturing (MSM31122)

Partec – Composites Training Centre: Partec, located on the TAFE Queensland Mt Gravatt campus, is a training hub for composites, plastics, and polymer processing, delivering nationally recognised qualifications and apprenticeships in composites fabrication, toolmaking, injection moulding, and CNC machining. https://partec.qld.edu.au

South Metropolitan TAFE – Naval Base Campus: Located approximately 30 km south of Perth, SM TAFE’s Naval Base campus offers a comprehensive trade program including qualifications in Marine Craft Construction (MEM30719) and Engineering – Composites Trade (MEM31119), both of which focus on theory and practical application. https://www.auie.ed. More information …

The Australian Institute of Engineering: The AIE is a private training institution with a national focus on the manufacturing industry, specialising in a flexible training model that delivers on-the-job programs in Marine Craft Construction (MEM30719) and Engineering – Composites Trade (MEM31119). ww.auie.edu.au

Undergraduate courses

Increasingly clients and engineers are specifying composite materials to take advantage of the benefits they offer projects. Recognising this trend, Australian universities are offering undergraduates courses that incorporate composite materials engineering and design.   Examples are listed below. Note details are current at October 2017 but may change.  Refer to the university handbooks for the most current course and contact details. 

ANU – Research School of Engineering: Composite Materials (ENGN4511). Details can be found on the university website at this link.

Monash University – Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering: Composite Structures MEC4446.  Details on the university website at this link …  

Monash University – Department of Materials Science and Engineering: Polymer and Composite Processing and Engineering. Details on the university website at this link …

University of NSW – School of Materials Science and Engineering: Undergraduate course in material sciences and engineering. Details on the university website sat this link …. 

University of Southern Queensland: Online course on the Mechanics and Technology of Fibre Composites. Details on the university website at this link …

University of Queensland – School of Engineering:  Dual major offered in Mechanical and Materials Engineering.  Also within civil engineering the course: Design of Composite Structures (CIVL7350).  Details on the university website at this link …

The University of Melbourne – School of Engineering: Offers a Master of Engineering (Materials)  and the undergraduate course Engineering Materials (ENGR20003).

University Research Centres Specialising in Composites

Following are the specialist research centres within universities that focus on composite materials and technologies. These centres, often co-funded through initiatives such as the Australian Research Council, advance the field through dedicated research clusters and collaborative projects.

New South Wales

• University of New South Wales (UNSW):
  • Automated Manufacture of Advanced Composites (AMAC)
  • Centre for Advanced Materials Technology
• University of Sydney
  • Centre for Advanced Materials Technology (CAMT)
• University of Technology Sydney (UTS)
  • Advanced Manufacturing and Materials Research Program
•  University of Wollongong
  • Australian Institute for Innovative Materials (AIIM)
  • Sustainable Buildings Research Centre (SBRC)

Victoria

• Deakin University
  • Carbon Nexus
  • Institute for Frontier Materials (IFM)
• RMIT University
  • Advanced Manufacturing Precinct (AMP) 
• Monash University
  • Materials Science and Engineering Department
• Swinburne University of Technology
• • The Aerostructures Innovation Research (AIR) Hub
  • Swinburne–CSIRO 4.0 Testlab

 Queensland

• University of Queensland (UQ)
  • Centre for Advanced Materials Processing and Manufacturing (AMPAM) 
• Griffith University
  • Advanced Design and Prototyping Technologies Institute (ADaPT)
• Queensland University of Technology (QUT)
  • Composites for Infrastructure

Western Australia

• University of Western Australia (UWA)
  • Engineering Materials Research Cluster
  • Materials and Structures Innovation Group
  • RiverLab Projects
• Curtin University
  • Materials and Structures Research Cluster
  • Advanced Composite Materials and Structures

South Australia

• University of South Australia (UniSA)
  • UniSA STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics)
  • Future Industries Institute
• Flinders University
  • College of Science and Engineering 

Tasmania

• University of Tasmania (UTAS)
  • Australian Maritime College (AMC), focusing on marine composites

Australian Capital Territory

• Australian National University (ANU)
  • Research School of Physics – Nanocomposites
• University of Canberra
  • Composites Lab