Jobs for British Royal Navy Sailors in Australian Royal Navy

As defence cuts increasingly bite into Britain’s armed forces, a spokesman for Australia’s forces has told the Daily Telegraph:

“The plan is that the British navy would be contacting people being made redundant and telling them that there is an option for them to extend their career and giving them our contact details.”

With jobs in Australia’s mining industry attracting people with offers of £100,000+ salaries The Royal Australian Navy has been finding it harder to get engineering and maintenance recruits of the calibre it would like.

Australia wants people who have served in the British forces within the last three years.

“It is the lack of engineering and maintenance electricians in the navy that is really causing some grief,” defence analyst, Neil James, who heads the Australia Defence Association told the Telegraph.

Jobs are believed to be available for up to two hundred Royal Navy engineers.

Personnel will also be needed for two new helicopter landing ships in two years time. Successful applicants would be expected to apply for Australian citizenship – this may be available within just three months to British recruits to Australia’s armed forces.

Defence jobs currently listed as priorities for recruitment in Australia’s Navy are medical officers, aerospace engineers, marine technicians and marine technicians (submariner).

In addition to offering a new home to some British naval personnel, Australia also had the commissioning ceremony for HMAS Choules this month. The ship was formerly known as HMS Largs Bay and was sold to the Australian Navy earlier this year.