Special Report: Singapore Aerospace
Singapore steps up aerospace training
Invests US$21 million in technical training academy.
February 1st 2016
Singapore has continued its drive to make training a vital component in its aerospace agenda. In January, the country’s Senior Minister of State for Transport, Josephine Teo, officially opened a US$21 million training centre to equip students and working adults with the skills required by the aerospace industry. Read More »
A part of Singapore’s national SkillsFuture initiative, the Temasek Aviation Academy’s facilities include aircraft technical training workshops, an aircraft-access training hangar, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) development facilities, a wind tunnel and flight simulators.
Teo said meeting the industry’s demand for skilled manpower would be a challenge as Changi Airport expands. Work on the airport’s third runway and Terminal 5 has commenced with the new terminal planned to eventually cater for more passengers annually than the current three terminals combined.
“Essentially, the skills of our people will determine our success at Changi, by making it a better hub despite the constraints we face,” said the transport minister. “We often say we want our people to be future-ready, but how do we do that when the job categories, designs and requirements of the future are evolving and often yet unknown? It turns out that cultivating a healthy attitude towards learning, a certain flexibility of the mind and developing the skills of adaptation are critical,” she said.
The existing Temasek Polytechnic introduced the SkillsFuture Earn and Learn Programme (ELP) for aerospace technicians last August. The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore is working with industry partners to launch similar programs for airport passenger services and ground operations.
The deputy director of the polytechnic’s School of Engineering, William See said: “Our mission is to ensure that those who pass through our doors are firmly placed on the path to success as aviation professionals, be they students aspiring to a career in aviation management or aerospace engineering, or working adults who need to deepen their skills and expand their job scope.” Temasek Poly’s aerospace and aviation department has grown from 76 students in 2007 to 1,500 last year.
