CAAS Rolls Out Initiative To Accelerate Deployment Of Aircraft Maintenance Engineers

SINGAPORE, June 4 (Bernama) -- To enhance the attractiveness of aerospace careers and support the industry’s manpower needs, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), has reviewed its rules on the training of aircraft maintenance engineers (AMEs). Under the revised rules, the four-year apprenticeship period for aircraft maintenance engineers could be shortened by up to one year. This will also help the industry reduce training costs. Institute of Higher Learning (IHL) graduates who want to be employed as aircraft maintenance engineers must obtain the CAAS aircraft maintenance licence. Commenting on the initiative here today, CAAS Director-general, Yap Ong Heng said: "With more manpower required to support the growth of the aircraft maintenance sector, CAAS is constantly exploring ways to encourage more IHL graduates to join the industry. "In this regard, this initiative will be particularly useful in building the AME pool." In line with ongoing efforts to ensure that its aviation regulations take into account the views of relevant stakeholders, CAAS has consulted IHLs and industry partners in developing this initiative. "We look forward to more IHLs coming on board with this initiative," Yap said. By allowing IHLs to conduct part of the basic aircraft maintenance training as part of their aerospace curriculum, the students' accumulated aircraft maintenance training hours can now be counted, towards the training hours required to qualify for a CAAS aircraft maintenance licence. The first IHL to tap on this initiative and obtain a SAR-147 Approved Maintenance Training Organisation certification from CAAS is Temasek Polytechnic (TP). TP will incorporate basic aircraft maintenance training into its Aerospace Engineering and Aerospace Electronics course curriculum which will cover foundational subjects such as aerodynamics, electrical fundamentals and basic maintenance practices. It will also provide hands-on basic aircraft maintenance training at its facilities. TP graduates who want to work as an AME will undergo the rest of the required training during the apprenticeship period in the industry, which is provided by specialised maintenance training organisations engaged by their employers. -- BERNAMA