ST Aerospace Partners NTUC, WDA, and e2i to Bring 500 Jobs to the Singapore Market

May 11, 2009
Groups collaborate on training and skills upgrading initiatives under the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (SPUR).

SINGAPORE – Reflecting the collaboration of the tripartite partnership, Singapore Technologies Aerospace Ltd (ST Aerospace), the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA), the Singapore Industrial and Services Employees' Union (SISEU) and NTUC's Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to collaborate on various training and skills upgrading initiatives under the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (SPUR).

Under the MOU, the initiatives that ST Aerospace will tap on include:

  • Upgrading their existing staff, using SPUR courses
  • Tapping on SPUR-Jobs to recruit new workers
  • Offering traineeship opportunities under the Professional Skills Programme Traineeship (PSPT)

ST Aerospace has committed around 1,100 training places and 40,000 training hours for all levels of staff, ranging from technicians to engineers, and other executives as well as contract workers. Some of the planned courses include nationally recognised training programs in Aerospace and Generic Manufacturing.

ST Aerospace is confident to hire more than 500 new employees during the next three years, including technicians, Licensed Aircraft Engineers (LAE), and engineers.

In 2009 alone, ST Aerospace will hire more than 200 new aircraft technicians and engineers. They will be placed under a WDA-supported "Place-and-Train" program, consisting of a three-month course in Aerospace Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) and 12-month on-the-job training.

ST Aerospace is receptive to hiring and training engineering-based applicants with no aviation experience, including displaced workers to be trained under its extensive and rigorous training program. In fact, it has already agreed to employ nine out of 40 identified displaced workers. ST Aerospace is working with e2i, WDA, and the Community Development Councils to further recruit eligible candidates.

ST Aerospace affirmed the benefits from the various schemes available to help companies manage the downturn.

"Aviation is not a short term business, and at ST Aerospace, we view training and employment from a long term perspective. The decision to commit to employ more and invest heavily in training despite the current climate is a clear indication of our confidence in aviation business in Singapore," says Tay Kok Khiang, President, ST Aerospace. "We are appreciative of the many initiatives by the Singapore government to encourage companies to invest in staff training to make Singapore more competitive. SPUR and other initiatives ensure that employment opportunities in Singapore are improved, and that local businesses are not overly compromised by the weak economy. Singapore companies have to be ready to compete more efficiently and effectively when the global economy recovers."

"Within a week of the announcement of the new initiatives SPUR-JOBS and PSP Traineeships on May 3, WDA has received close to 250 calls from companies interested to tap on the schemes," says Chan Heng Kee, WDA's Chief Executive. "This is encouraging. We hope there will be many more companies like ST Aerospace that will work with WDA to tap on these schemes to build up their workforce and capability."

"As a union, we hope to see companies not just survive the downturn but also take steps to chart their recovery and future growth," says Josephine Teo, NTUC's Assistant Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of SISEU. "Our workers in ST Aerospace are very uplifted by the company's commitment to invest in their skills upgrading which will also enhance business competitiveness. More importantly, the company's early adoption of SPUR-Jobs and PSP Traineeship reflects its proactive approach to position itself strongly for the upturn. As a result, workers are motivated to do their part so that the company has that extra edge as they compete for more business.”