17/01/2018
Aerospace Industry Transformation Map
Vision: Singapore - a globally recognised aerospace nation, capable of design, engineering, production and aftermarket services for the world’s major aircraft programmes
Mr S Iswaran, Minister for Trade and Industry
(Industry), launched the Aerospace Industry Transformation Map (ITM)
today in conjunction with the 10th anniversary of the Seletar Aerospace
Park (SAP) at the JTC Aerospace Networking Night. Developed by a
multi-agency team together with industry partners, unions and trade
associations, the ITM maps out strategies that will build the aerospace
industry of tomorrow. Through the ITM efforts, the industry is expected
to achieve a manufacturing value-added of S$4 billion and introduce
1,000 new jobs by 2020.
The Singapore Aerospace Industry – A Key Sector of Growth for Singapore Economy
The aerospace industry is a key sector of growth for
Singapore economy, with an average annual growth of 7% in value-added
over the past 20 years. In 2016, the aerospace industry achieved a
value-add of $3.35 billion, and employed 21,000 people. 80% of these
jobs are filled by locals, and the majority are in high-skilled job
roles.
Significantly, Singapore has continued to maintain its status
as Asia Pacific’s leading Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) Hub,
contributing to 10% of the global aerospace industry’s output for MRO.
To strengthen our MRO sector further, the Civil Aviation Authority of
Singapore (CAAS) has concluded an aviation maintenance agreement and an
airworthiness certification agreement with the US Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)
respectively (please refer to Annex A for more information).
Increasingly, Singapore is also being recognised by aerospace companies
as a prime location for manufacturing, and offering premium aftermarket
services such as cabin modification, fleet management, aircraft leasing
and pilot training.
Global Trends Giving Rise to Opportunities for Singapore
Looking ahead, the prospects of the aerospace industry
remain positive. Increase in global air travel will continue to drive
demand for aircraft. Meanwhile, industry reports signal that
Asia-Pacific is well on its way to becoming the world’s largest aviation
market, accounting for almost 40% of the global fleet in 20 years. The
strong growth in Asia-Pacific presents opportunities across the value
chain in manufacturing, MRO and aftermarket industry segments. Aerospace
companies will need to broaden their Asian footprint and innovate to
address these new market needs.
In addition, the emergence of new global trends has brought
about growth opportunities for the industry. Aerospace companies are
leveraging digital and advanced manufacturing technologies to transform
their operations to improve productivity and offer new solutions. In
addition, new market segments such as unmanned aircraft systems (UAS)
are also emerging. These industry trends will transform existing
aerospace jobs, and create new skilled job roles such as robotics
engineers, data scientists and additive manufacturing design engineers.
To prepare Singapore to capture these growth opportunities,
the ITM has identified three key thrusts: pursuing operational
excellence, driving innovation in emerging technologies, and equipping
Singaporeans with relevant skills. To help implement these changes in
the industry, the government also aims to deepen ties with our industry
associations.
Pursuing Operational Excellence
To remain globally competitive, Singapore must focus on
increasing productivity within the industry. To this end, the Government
is encouraging companies to invest in new equipment and automation to
build best-in-class facilities, as well as deepen capabilities to drive
process improvement.
1 Boeing market forecast 2017: APAC could account for 37% of aircraft deliveries by 2036.
For instance, home-grown aerospace company, Singapore
Aerospace Manufacturing (SAM), is investing in advanced automation
equipment, as well as software and engineering capabilities to upgrade
existing lines to manufacture next-generation aircraft components. It
expects productivity gains of up to 30% through increased efficiency and
reliability of its manufacturing processes. SAM is also grooming a
full-time team to support and lead continuous improvement.
Companies are also exploring new technologies to enable them to make
better, data-driven decisions. ST Aerospace has embarked on a digital
and productivity transformation initiative known as Smart MRO. It
leverages data analytics to optimise internal processes and bring new
value to customers through solutions like customised predictive
maintenance. ST Aerospace will also adopt solutions such as drones for
aircraft inspection and additive manufacturing for spare parts, which
have the potential to improve cost efficiency and turnaround time.
Driving Innovation in Emerging Technologies
The second thrust of our strategy to transform the industry
focuses on building Singapore’s innovation capabilities. Singapore
continues to invest in its public research ecosystem. A*STAR will be
supporting the innovation pillar in the Aerospace ITM. Over the last
decade, A*STAR’s Aerospace Consortium has brought together leading
aerospace companies to collaborate in more than 120 aerospace research
projects. The programme has helped Singapore build a foundation of
aerospace-related R&D capabilities in areas such as advanced
materials, non-destructive inspection techniques, process automation,
avionics and wireless communications. (Please refer to Annex B for more
information on the A*STAR’s Aerospace Consortium.)
Moving forward, EDB and A*STAR will encourage the
development of industry-relevant technologies which can be brought to
commercialisation in the coming years. Possible focus areas include
industrial internet-of-things (IIoT), additive manufacturing, data
analytics for predictive maintenance and asset optimisation.
Robust and responsive regulatory support from the
Government is key in enabling technology advancements. CAAS has been
working closely with EDB on this front. CAAS has maintained a
facilitative regime to nurture new industry segments whilst balancing
the need to maintain safety standards. For example, CAAS and SPRING
intend to set up an industry work group to develop technical standards
for use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) in Singapore, responding to the
rapid developments in this new area.
Equipping Singaporeans with Relevant Skills
To equip Singaporeans with the necessary skills that will
allow them to take on new job scopes and employment opportunities, the
Skills Framework for Aerospace is also launched today. Jointly developed
by SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG), Workforce Singapore (WSG) and EDB,
with inputs from industry stakeholders, unions, and education and
training institutions, the Skills Framework allows individuals to
explore career growth opportunities along or across four different
tracks within the sector, covering 86 job roles. These tracks include
Aircraft Maintenance, Fleet Maintenance, Aircraft Engine/Component
Maintenance, and Manufacturing. The Skills Framework also provides key
information on the sector, including current and emerging skills and
competencies, and the relevant training programmes for each job role.
Examples of the emerging skills and competencies identified are Rapid
Prototyping, Advanced Composite Failure Analysis, and Data Mining
Techniques for Manufacturing Excellence. (Please refer to Annex C for
more information on the Skills Framework for Aerospace)
As the industry transforms and adopts advanced
manufacturing technologies, our Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs),
together with research institutes and private training providers such as
A*STAR’s Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech) and
TUM Asia, are working closely with the industry to curate and deliver
bite-sized industry-relevant modules in emerging areas such as robotics,
automation, data analytics and cyber security under the SkillsFuture
Series. Temasek Polytechnic will also be rolling out two new
SkillsFuture Earn and Learn Programmes (ELPs) in Robotics and Automation
and IIoT, which are contextualised to the needs of the aerospace
industry. (Please refer to Annex D for more information on ELPs)
WSG has also put in place programmes such as the
Professional Conversion Programme (PCP), which aims to equip mid-career
PMETs for new careers in growth industries. The four existing PCPs have
since benefited more than 60 mid-career PMETs. Two new PCPs for
Aerospace Officers and Aerospace Executives have been launched. (Please
refer to Annex E for more information on PCPs.)
Deepening Ties with Industry Associations as Key Partners
Taking a broader industry perspective, the Government will
partner with Trade Associations and Chambers (TACs) such as the
Association of Aerospace Industries Singapore (AAIS) and Singapore
Institute of Aerospace Engineers (SIAE) to transform the industry.
JTC has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with
AAIS, aerospace companies, as well as the polytechnics and Institute of
Technical Education (ITE) to collaborate on a new series of aerospace
student outreach initiatives that aims to develop a pipeline of
future-ready talent. The initiatives are expected to benefit some 1,500
students from the aerospace engineering courses annually. The first
collaboration will be the inaugural Aerospace Day @ SAP that will be
held in April this year. This collaboration will benefit final-year
students from polytechnics and ITE, providing them with the opportunity
to visit the aerospace companies in SAP, exposing them to the working
environment, and the career opportunities available in the industry.
Annex A - Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore agreements with FAA and EASA
Annex B - A*Star Aerospace Consortium
Annex C - Factsheet on Skills Framework for Aerospace by SkillsFuture Singapore
Annex E - Factsheet for the Aerospace Professional Conversion programmes (Aerospace PCPs)
Annex E1 - Archetypes for Aerospace PCPs
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