Singapore's aviation sector takes off to meet demand, but labour shortage could stall growth
MORE FACILITIES
Bellwethers like ST Engineering are looking to do more to meet the demand, such as building additional airframe maintenance hangers in Singapore and abroad.
"We plan to open a new engine shop later this year so that we have more capacity for engine overhaul," said Mr Jeffrey Lam, president of commercial aerospace at ST Engineering.
The facility will provide MRO services for the LEAP-1A and LEAP-1B engines that power narrow-body aircraft, including the new generation Boeing 737 and the Airbus A320. It is expected to provide 200 engine shop visit capacity annually.
The company said these additions will boost its man-hours in Singapore by a third next year – to over 4 million annually.
"We're hiring more people – in Singapore in particular – so that we can grow the amount of services that we can offer to our global customers," Mr Lam said.
The firm wants to add up to 500 staff to its headcount in the next one to two years, with engineer and technician roles certified in avionics and landing gear among the skill demands, added Mr Lam.
STRONG AVIATION SECTOR
Singapore contributes about 10 per cent of current global MRO output, making it a leading hub in Asia.
Industry players believe the nation is well-positioned to leverage the growth.
'For a small country like Singapore, 10 per cent of global market share is very significant,' said Mr Sia, pointing out the aviation sector has recovered well since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Between 2022 and 2024, Singapore bagged over S$750 million in investment commitments from aerospace companies.
Last year, Changi Airport handled almost 68 million passengers, which is 99 per cent of pre-pandemic levels. National carrier Singapore Airlines (SIA) and its low-cost arm Scoot flew 39 million passengers the same year, 12.7 per cent more than in 2023.
'Singapore has historically been able to attract very high-quality aviation and MRO players to base their facilities here,' said Mr Joshua Ng, director of Alton Aviation Consultancy.
'We think that Singapore is one of the few countries that are poised to tap on this growing demand in the MRO sector.'
MANPOWER SHORTAGE
However, industry players said ongoing manpower constraints could ground growth.
'MRO capacity is quite limited, and at the same time, the supply chain is highly constrained and talent is in short supply,' said Mr Sia.
'Fortunately, during the pandemic, we were able to maintain a good proportion of our workforce, which allowed us to ramp up to capture the surge in demand.'
He added that challenges remain in ensuring that enough people can access opportunities in aerospace, as well as in upskilling and cross-skilling the existing workforce.
Currently, efforts to build a talent pipeline include partnerships with educational institutes and career fairs.
ROLE OF AI IN MRO
Market watchers said artificial intelligence could help to address the staffing shortages by helping mechanics and engineers with routine and tedious work.
AI is driving transformation in the sector, allowing jobs to evolve to provide higher value products and services.
'In the past, repairs will only be done when defects are found. (AI will make the process) more proactive and more service oriented… leveraging data to predict whether maintenance (should) happen,' said Mr Ng.
AI makes it possible to predict failures before they occur, by monitoring performance data and identifying patterns of degradation, to avoid situations where planes cannot fly due to faulty parts, he added.
'The role of the human now will be more in terms of sense-making, interpreting the data… doing final quality checks, repairs and sign-offs to make sure that everything is in order for the aircraft to fly,' he explained.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Independent Singapore
8 hours ago
- Independent Singapore
Where NUS and NTU outshine Oxbridge in global rankings
One in three students at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is a foreigner. The attraction is clear: NUS ranks fourth globally—behind only the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Stanford, and Carnegie Mellon—in computer science and information systems in the 2025 QS World University Rankings By Subject. In electrical and electronic engineering, both NUS and NTU share the fourth spot with Harvard, trailing just MIT, Stanford, and the University of California, Berkeley, according to the same source. Either or both of the universities excel in other fields as well, including law, medicine, and architecture. With their strong showing in the 2026 QS World University Rankings, could NUS and NTU be seen as the Oxford and Cambridge of Asia? Sticklers may disagree, and not without reason. For one, NUS and NTU are located far closer together than the dreaming spires of Oxford are to Cambridge. More importantly, they cannot yet rival the rich Oxbridge tradition in the arts and humanities. Still, in many other fields, they are catching up—or have already overtaken—and that progress is clearly reflected in the rankings. NUS and NTU are ranked eighth and 12th respectively, just behind Oxford and Cambridge, which come in at fourth and sixth. The strong performance of Singapore's universities is no longer a novelty. This marks the third consecutive year NUS has held eighth place. NTU, which ranked 15th in 2025, has returned to 12th, a position it surpassed in 2018 and 2020 when it ranked 11th. Splitting the two Singapore institutions in this year's rankings is the University of Hong Kong at 11th. See also Singapore experts weigh in on the Covid-19 situation NUS is the only Asian university in the global top 10. The only other non-Anglo-American presence is ETH Zurich of Switzerland, in seventh. The broader Asia-Pacific region has a growing presence in the top 20: China's Peking University and Tsinghua University are ranked 14th and 17th, while Australia's University of Melbourne and the University of New South Wales are 19th and 20th. NUS, NTU: Areas of excellence The Singapore universities are no longer known solely for their engineering prowess. NUS ranks 10th globally in law—making it the only non-Anglo-American university in the top 10 for legal studies. NTU stands at 82nd. In medicine, NUS ranks 18th—the highest for any Asian university—while NTU is 84th. NTU, however, shines in communication and media studies, coming in fourth behind the University of Amsterdam, Harvard, and the University of Texas at Austin. NUS ranks 14th in this field. While Oxford and Cambridge still reign supreme in the arts and humanities, NUS is gaining ground. It ranks second globally in art history, eighth in linguistics, ninth in architecture, 15th in English language and literature, and 17th in history. See also SATIRE: Pokemon GO releases sad news for its Singapore fans This academic success is underpinned by scale and diversity. With over 33,000 students, NUS has the second-largest student body among the top 10 universities—trailing only University College London, which has over 45,000 students. NTU has more than 25,000 students. International students and staff International students and staff contribute significantly to the success of both institutions. Foreigners make up 36% of the student body at NUS and 33% at NTU. The faculty is even more international, with 65% of staff at both universities coming from overseas. In comparison, Harvard has around 24,300 students, including 6,700 international students, and over 4,400 faculty and staff, only 27% of whom are international. Oxford has over 22,000 students, more than 9,000 of them from abroad, and 6,500 faculty and staff, with 44% from overseas. The international students and staff carry weight in the QS World University Rankings. QS applies the following weightage when ranking universities: Academic reputation: 30% Citations per faculty: 20% Employer reputation: 15% Employment outcomes: 5% Faculty-student ratio: 10% International faculty ratio: 5% International research network: 5% International student ratio: 5% International student diversity: 0% See also SP overcharges bill, claims they 'overestimated' $1500 There's an old story about Benjamin Jowett, the 19th-century Master of Balliol College, Oxford, who once declared, 'I am the Master of this College; what I don't know isn't knowledge.' Today, such a claim would be inconceivable. From NUS to NTU, Oxford to Harvard, the global groves of academe are constantly striving for the next breakthrough, the next frontier of knowledge. Top 20 in QS World University Rankings 2026: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Imperial College London Stanford University University of Oxford Harvard University University of Cambridge ETH Zurich National University of Singapore University College London California Institute of Technology (Caltech) University of Hong Kong Nanyang Technological University University of Chicago Peking University University of Pennsylvania Cornell University Tsinghua University University of California, Berkeley University of Melbourne University of New South Wales
Independent Singapore
8 hours ago
- Independent Singapore
‘More vouchers?' Singaporeans on what they expect from PM Wong's National Day Rally speech
SINGAPORE: After it was announced on Wednesday (Jun 18) that Prime Minister (PM) Lawrence Wong will be delivering the National Day Rally speech on Aug 17, commenters online expressed what they were looking forward to or expected from it. The PM's Office said that the speech will be held at the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) College Central in Ang Mo Kio. This is the second time Mr Wong will be giving the speech, and the first since Singapore handed the People's Action Party (PAP) a very strong mandate in last month's General Election. The speech is widely recognised to be the most significant political one of the year, since important policy announcements are made. In last year's speech, PM Wong made announcements concerning SkillsFuture, public housing, and other social support measures. This year, based on comments online, a number of Singaporeans appear to expect more announcements about vouchers. One Facebook user, perhaps mostly in jest, wrote that they expected the speech to be '50% about vouchers.' See also Employees in retrenching companies experiencing lower morale A Reddit user decided to play it twee, writing 'Papa Wong, I want more vouchers.' Others, however, decided to take things more seriously, and more than a few netizens across various social media platforms expressed hope for a rollback on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) hike. For one, however, public housing was high on their wish list. 'I just want affordable housing for young and future Singaporeans. Million-dollar public housing while the youth struggle with one of the worst job markets in history,' they wrote. 'Housing, housing, housing. The snowball keeps growing bigger,' another agreed. A commenter on Reddit was also concerned about jobs, writing, 'Please do something to prevent companies /jobs from leaving. Once they leave, they can only return back to our shores in next five to 10 years given the investments and commitment of their contracts in the countries they relocate to, so what will happen to us during these years, eat grass?' For one Facebook user, meanwhile, wi-fi costs are a big concern. 'Your speech should include reducing internet, WiFi Data cost for the people. Currently, it is just too high. Many competitors in the market, but all are game to con and swindle the people money. First month price is good. Second month, they just increase it like crazy… We want you to address these issues if we are to move forward Sir.' /TISG Read also: IN FULL: Lawrence Wong stresses strategies to navigate new world in maiden National Day message as PM
CNA
9 hours ago
- CNA
More ad-hoc sellers popping up online ahead of durian harvest
With the upcoming durian harvest, more enterprising ad-hoc sellers are popping up online. Veteran durian businesses say they have witnessed more online sellers looking to make a quick buck. But they say it is a gamble that may not pay off. This is because poor weather conditions have lead to a smaller supply and pushed up prices to a record high. Alexandra Anand with this story.
