Singapore aerospace sector looking to fill 1,000 jobs in next 2 years: Tan See Leng

AEROSPACE companies in Singapore are looking to fill around 1,000 positions over the next 2 years, Second Minister for Trade and Industry Tan See Leng said on Monday (Oct 11).

These roles include data analysts, robotics and automation engineers, and aircraft technicians, JTC said in a separate press statement. The industry is looking to seize growth opportunities in digital services, autonomous technologies and sustainability, it added.

Mainboard-listed Singapore Technologies Engineering (ST Engineering) aims to hire up to 200 aviation professionals by next year, while Singapore Aero Engine Services - a joint venture between Rolls-Royce and SIA Engineering - is hiring for 170 vacancies, 100 for technicians and 70 vacancies for new trainees.

US aerospace giant Pratt & Whitney also embarked on a recruitment drive recently to fill 250 positions for its maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) operations in Singapore. GE Aviation, which provides aircraft engines and components, is also looking to hire for 200 positions and further recruit workers in 2022 as the sector recovers.

GE Aviation Singapore managing director Iain Rodger said the company is seeing a strong recovery of the aviation sector as countries’ borders progressively open up. He added that the company needs the right engineering talent and workforce to serve its customers’ engines MRO needs.

Business jet manufacturer Bombardier intends to fill over 90 positions as it quadruples its existing footprint in Singapore, Dr Tan said.

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"Our highly skilled and industry-ready talent are well-trained in functions across the value chain. This includes certified technicians and engineers, as well as over 2,000 graduates from aerospace courses across ITE, polytechnics and universities every year," he said.

Rolls-Royce president for South-east Asia, Pacific and South Korea, Bicky Bhangu, told The Business Times (BT) that the company anticipates a ramp-up in the MRO operations of its aero engines, given that the potential increase in the number of hours its engines spend in the air will be key to business recovery.

Rolls-Royce is currently offering redeployment opportunities in Singapore, including in roles at its high-value fan blade production in Seletar, the power systems business, and its MRO joint-venture facility with SIA Engineering, he said, without providing numbers.

This comes as the company is exploring opportunities to best deploy its workforce where demands of the business require, as well as "growth and recovery initiatives", as part of the group's ongoing strategic planning, Dr Bhangu added.

Meanwhile, Boeing said it plans to maintain the size of its overall workforce at about 140,000 globally, and will continue to fill critical positions in Singapore and the region.

Dr Tan also identified three long-term growth areas - digital services, autonomous technologies and advanced communications, as well as sustainability. He noted that aerospace companies have a strong talent pool to tap on.

Aerospace companies like Airbus inaugurated its Singapore campus at Seletar Aerospace Park last November. The campus serves as its Asia-Pacific hub and also houses a team dedicated to its digital solutions platform Skywise.

"We are fully committed to Singapore as our regional hub and to our many ongoing projects here. As the airline market in the region recovers we will continue to deepen our local engagement and further grow our presence in the country,” an Airbus spokesperson said in a statement to BT.

Local startup H3 Dynamics also partnered French conglomerate Thales to test an autonomous drone flight monitoring system in Singapore's urban environment.

In the area of sustainability, the Nanyang Technological University and Rolls-Royce have partnered to develop electrification technologies to enable hybrid-electric aircraft.

"While the pandemic has challenged us in many ways, it has also created opportunities. The government is committed to bringing stakeholders together to develop a robust talent pipeline to capture growth opportunities even during this challenging time," Dr Tan added.