More training courses, S$200 million fund among moves to boost Singapore's aviation manpower

Business Times

18-07-2025

[SINGAPORE] More aviation-related courses and a new S$200 million fund are among efforts to boost Singapore's aviation talent pipeline, in line with a new report on the sector's manpower needs.
The announcements came alongside the report's release at the OneAviation Careers and Education fair on Friday (Jul 18).
Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) director-general Han Kok Juan said: 'The Aviation Jobs Transformation Report, the various collaboration agreements we signed and the new S$200 million OneAviation Manpower Fund CAAS set up will give a big boost to Singapore's aviation manpower development efforts.'
More aviation-related courses and specialisations are to come under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between CAAS and nine institutes of higher learning.
CAAS will work with the institutions to grow education capabilities and programmes; develop and expand courses and specialisations; and improve awareness of career opportunities through fairs and scholarships.
The partners are the Institute of Technical Education; five polytechnics – Nanyang Polytechnic, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic, Republic Polytechnic and Temasek Polytechnic; and three universities – Singapore Institute of Technology, Singapore University of Social Sciences and Singapore University of Technology and Design.
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Trends to change aviation jobs
Strengthening cooperation between the industry and educational institutions is one of the recommendations in the report, which is a study of Singapore's air-hub workforce released on Friday by CAAS and Workforce Singapore.
Resulting from a year-long study involving over 200 companies, it assesses trends that affect jobs and skills in the sector, and sets out plans for workforce development.
Besides industry-education partnerships, the sector will also accelerate investment in technology, with CAAS to work with industry, unions and the research community on a multi-year technology road map.
Under a separate MOU signed on Friday, CAAS will also work with AI Singapore, Changi Airport Group, Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Sats to develop the industry's artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities and talent, and create a long-term plan for AI development in aviation.
A third area is providing targeted support for workers through companies, with the establishment of the new S$200 million OneAviation Manpower Fund.
Part of the additional S$1 billion set aside in Budget 2025 for the development of Changi air hub, this fund will support efforts to attract, develop and retain aviation workers.
Future trends
The sector 'is expected to grow robustly over the next few decades, including with the opening of Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 5 in the mid-2030s', noted CAAS in a media statement. Angela Ng, director for the aviation industry at CAAS, said: 'We expect the Singapore aviation workforce to grow in tandem with air travel demand, especially with the opening of the new Changi Airport Terminal Five (T5) in (the) mid-2030s. Over the next five years, we will seek to attract more Singaporeans into the aviation sector.
'The actual number needed for when T5 opens will be determined in the early 2030s to take into account the operating environment then.'
The largest share – 18,000 workers or 30 per cent – work for local carriers SIA and Scoot. Most are in-flight operations roles, including pilots and cabin crew, with ground-based occupations including flight operations and ground services.
This is followed by ground handling, with around 14,000 jobs or 24 per cent. These comprise passenger services such as check-in and boarding, in-flight catering, as well as 'below-wing' jobs, such as baggage handling and aircraft marshalling.
The other areas are:
Airport operations and services: 10,000 jobs or 16 per cent
Aircraft maintenance: 6,000 jobs or 10 per cent
Non-domestic airlines and cargo: 5,000 jobs or 8 per cent
Security: 4,000 jobs or 7 per cent
Government services: 3,000 jobs or 5 per cent.
But major trends mean that around 29 per cent of the sector's jobs may need moderate to extensive adjustments, said the report.
It identified six trends across the next five years: automation, AI, digitalisation, changing consumer and workforce preferences and sustainability.
Workers in affected roles will need reskilling or upskilling, said the report.
One example is baggage transportation, which may be carried out by autonomous vehicles in the future. This creates a new role for supervising such autonomous fleets, while current baggage vehicle drivers can take on safety-related tasks instead.