SIA, SIA Engg, Scoot and SATS to send 17,500 staff for skills upgrading

SINGAPORE Airlines (SIA), SIA Engineering, Scoot and SATS are planning to send 17,500 staff members for training in light of widespread flight suspensions amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The four companies made the commitment at a closed-door dialogue session with NTUC secretary-general Ng Chee Meng on April 3, NTUC said in a statement on April 5.

NTUC added that this will translate to a total of over 39,500 days of training for aviation workers.

The announcement follows a training and support package for the aviation sector announced in Budget 2020.

Of the four companies, Scoot has already sent 23 of its flight and cabin crew members for a home-based learning course to develop their awareness of emerging technologies and build confidence in using technology.

In all, 1,900 crew members - representing over three-quarters of the airline's total workforce - are expected to complete the course in the coming months, NTUC said.

The cooperative, which identified itself as a key training provider, said that it is rapidly increasing its training capacity and leveraging virtual live classes for the NTUC LearningHub to meet demand from various sectors.

It has already curated a series of courses for the aviation sector, with topics such as mindset change, service, technology and data.

Future courses include change management, project management, technical training and service excellence-related courses.

NTUC added that since the middle of last week, about 500 aviation workers have signed up to be referred to temporary work assignments to augment their income.

Its aerospace and aviation cluster is currently working with aviation companies to send staff for job interviews.

Singapore Airlines is helping staff take up roles such as SG Clean ambassadors and safe distancing ambassadors, while several Scoot crew members have taken on jobs to help manage crowd control and conduct temperature screening at NTUC Enterprise's real estate subsidiary, Mercatus Co-operative.

SIA shares were trading up S$0.09 or 1.6 per cent at S$5.59 as at 10.43am on Monday after the announcement.

SIA Engineering shares were trading flat at S$1.58, while SATS shares rose S$0.02 or 0.7 per cent to S$2.84.