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. Currently,
they are provided with all the necessary aircraft maintenance training by their
Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul employers. 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. TP will cover foundational subjects such as
aerodynamics, electrical fundamentals and basic maintenance practices. It will also
provide hands-on basic aircraft maintenance training in 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.
Mr Yap Ong Heng, Director-General of CAAS, 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 CAAS’ ongoing efforts to ensure
that our aviation regulations take into account the views of relevant stakeholders, CAAS
consulted IHLs and industry partners in developing this initiative. We look forward to more
IHL s coming on board this initiative.”
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Source: CAAS
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