13,000 new jobs in aviation, maritime sectors by 2025

Singapore

ABOUT 13,000 new jobs could be created in the air and sea transport sectors by 2025 as Singapore builds smarter ports and develops vibrant enterprise ecosystems, said Senior Minister of State for Transport Josephine Teo in Parliament.

This comes as Changi Airport's Terminal 5 and a new port in Tuas are set to come onstream in the next ten to fifteen years, giving Singapore the capacity to handle twice the existing volumes of passenger and container traffic.

But the new jobs over the next decade will be more knowledge intensive, given the growing use of smart technologies, while existing jobs will be transformed into higher skill, higher value jobs.

"At the port, more data scientists and operations research analysts will be needed to optimise shipping routes, port operations and vessel traffic management," said Mrs Teo during her ministry's Committee of Supply debate. "At the airport, we will require data scientists skilled in air traffic operations research and analysis, to optimise our runway and airspace capacities through modelling and simulation."

The air and sea sectors today contribute about 10 per cent of Singapore GDP and generate nearly 250,000 jobs.

Mrs Teo also stressed the need for vibrant enterprise ecosystems to attract and retain more businesses, which will keep Singapore ahead of its competitors.

To boost innovation, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) will establish the MPA Living Lab at the end of this year, simulating "live" operating conditions that will allow for innovations to be tested.

Mrs Teo said: "Areas being explored include autonomous vessels, multi-purpose drones, and next-generation vessel traffic management systems. We believe this could be a game-changer for Singapore, bringing together technology developers and industry players to anchor their innovation activities in Singapore and help our sea hub stay ahead."

For fresh school leavers, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and MPA is tying up with institutes of higher learning to establish new training schemes. Two SkillsFuture Earn-and-Learn programmes (ELPs) for passenger service agents and ground operations specialists were rolled out in October last year; the next ELP intake for these two programmes is slated for next month.

MPA will also enhance the Maritime Cluster Fund for Manpower Development to support a wider range of training to equip Singaporeans with skills in new areas, such as data analytics and new maritime technologies and 5,000 locals annually are expected to benefit from this.

CAAS will be launching the Air Transport industry transformation maps (ITM) next month, while MPA will develop the Sea Transport ITM over the course of the year, Mrs Teo added.

Already, efforts are underway at Changi Airport and Pasir Panjang to test out automation and innovative technologies which could be used in the planning of Changi's Terminal 5 and Tuas Terminal.

T4 - which opens in 2H17 - will offer self-service and automated options for check-in, bag drop, immigration clearance and boarding. In addition, at the back-end, T4 will have automated baggage screening, sorting, and storage. Smart cleaning initiatives and centralised support functions for retail and F&B will mean less dependence on manpower. At steady state, T4 is expected to rack up 10 per cent in manpower savings thanks to automation.

Separately, Changi Airport Group (CAG) said on Wednesday that it has shortlisted three consortia to participate in a Master Architect tender to consult on the development of Terminal 5. These are Grimshaw Architects, in partnership with DP Architects; a consortium led by KPF Associates; and a consortium led by Safdie Architects.

In addition, four consortia have also been selected for a Master Civil tender for the design of infrastructure at the landside and airside areas outside the T5 buildings.

These are AECOM Singapore; Jacobs International Consultants, in partnership with SAA Architects; a consortium led by Surbana Jurong, and a consortium led by TY Lin International.

CAG plans to award the two contracts by early 2018.