Responding to increased interest from around the world for its innovative high speed vessels, Incat Tasmania has increased its shipbuilding workforce to meet the demand. The Company has put on around 30 men over the past weeks and more are starting in the weeks ahead.
Those employed have been mainly skilled tradesmen in the areas of welding, fabrication, electrical, fitting and fitout but importantly Incat has also put on unskilled workers as trade assistants and labourers. It is anticipated some of these will be put on as apprentices in the future, providing a much needed boost to Tasmania’s manufacturing industry and the economy, ensuring there is a trained and skilled workforce to meet future employment demands.
Incat Chairman Robert Clifford said “I am delighted to see so many former Incat personnel expressing interest in working for the Company again and it is also encouraging to see other skilled workers from a range of industries recently submitting applications to be considered for future employment opportunities.
Incat is hopeful to secure further orders and continue to be a world leader in the shipbuilding industry but we need workers to build our vessels. We are extremely proud of the level of skills and the quality of our product, it is this reputation for quality that is opening new markets”.
The current ships under construction are both for new clients, a 70 metre fast crew boat for the Azerbaijan oil industry, and an 85 metre commercial passenger and vehicle ferry for a new Japanese customer. New orders, combined with interest from current Incat ship owners for replacement tonnage will not only increase our presence in the world market even further but for the Australian economy ensure we will continue to be a major employer with an emphasis on improving work skills for our tradespeople for the future.
