Opening Address by Senior Minister of State Dr Lam Pin Min at the Aviation Community Reception cum Aviation Open House (ACR/AOH) 2019

Mr Edmund Cheng, Chairman, CAAS,
Friends in the Aviation Community,

1.     A very good evening and welcome to the 2019 Aviation Community Reception and Aviation Open House.

Introduction

2.     The air hub is an important pillar of the Singapore economy. It directly contributes to around 3% of Singapore’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and provides jobs to approximately 88,000 people. Aviation allows Singapore to be connected to the world, and the world to us, and this connectivity supports other crucial economic sectors, such as tourism, manufacturing, and logistics.

3.     I am honoured to be in the presence of all of you. You have worked hard, and with your passion and steadfastness, worked together to build our air hub to what it is today.

4.     Challenges will come our way. Like other sectors of the economy, we are not immune to external headwinds, and there will be ups and downs.The global economy has weakened further in recent months, affecting business and consumer confidence. As a result, there has been a decline in air cargo volumes at Changi Airport in the first half of this year as compared to last year. Air passenger movement was also affected, growing at a slower rate of 3.6% in the first half of this year, compared to 5.5% in the same period last year.

5.     In spite of the current economic uncertainties, it is critical for the air transport sector to continue to focus on building capabilities, so that we are ready to seize new growth opportunities. First, we must step up on innovation efforts, by investing in infrastructure and technology to enhance services and operations. Second, we must raise the capabilities of our workforce and equip workers with relevant new skills so that they can harness the opportunities from innovation and support the sector’s future growth.

Sustaining Our Edge through Innovation

6.     Let me first elaborate on how I think we can sustain our edge through innovation.

7.     To keep pace with the fast-evolving aviation landscape, it is imperative that we foster an innovation culture. One way we have sought to do this is through the Aviation Challenges, which were conceived with the objective of developing innovative solutions to automate labour-intensive processes at the airport. Last year, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) launched the third Aviation Challenge (AC 3) focused on developing solutions to enable seamless ground operations at the airport, through strong collaboration between end-users and technology providers. The response has been encouraging, and I thank all participants for their efforts and support. We will be presenting four innovative projects that have been selected for funding this evening – these projects are aimed at automating processes, and enabling more older workers to continue working, by reducing the physical effort. We look forward to hearing about the projects’ prototype development and trials in the months ahead.

8.     Another area where we have been supporting innovation is in the beneficial use of unmanned aircraft systems (or UAS). You may wonder why we do that given the threat posed by errant UAS. Even as we strengthen our capabilities to deal with errant UAS, we are mindful that the majority of UAS users are responsible, and there are UAS applications that bring benefits. A year ago, CAAS gave out four awards to develop innovative UAS use cases. Our awardees continue to work towards solutions in the use of UAS for deliveries and the development of a traffic management system for UAS. Their efforts exemplify the potential that the latest advances in UAS have in improving our work processes and making our lives more convenient.

9.     Even as we facilitate the beneficial uses of UAS, we are refining our regulations and improving our oversight capabilities to ensure they remain up to date and fit for purpose. As with other forms of new technology, finding the right balance in terms of regulations will take time, particularly since UAS technology continues to evolve quickly. This is why CAAS established the UAS Advisory Panel earlier this year to help review and recommend enhancements to the regulatory framework to deal with errant users, while complementing our efforts to encourage innovation. I look forward to receiving their recommendations.

10.    Besides technology and policy innovation, there is also room for us to innovate in administrative processes. CAAS is enhancing its regulatory processes and will implement eLicensing for UAS Pilots in 2020. Under this initiative, license applications and renewal processes will be fully digitalised. This will provide greater convenience for UAS users and CAAS.

Developing Our Aviation Workforce

11.    Let me now move on to talk about how we can develop our aviation workforce and groom a pipeline of talents for our sector. Singapore will face greater manpower constraints due to our ageing population. Rapid advancements in innovation will inevitably bring about major changes in work processes and skill demands. It is critical for us to enhance the capabilities of our workforce as we push for greater innovation.

12.    We are committed to working with the industry and unions to help our aviation workforce acquire new skills and knowledge. Tonight, we will be awarding the Aviation Leaders Scholarship, Aviation Horizon Scholarship, and SkillsFuture Study Awards to support the continuous learning and development of our workforce.

13.    One of our awardees here today, Mr. Mohammed Riduwan Bin Hasan, is pursuing a part-time diploma in Engineering (Aviation Management) at Temasek Polytechnic through the SkillsFuture Study Award. He is a SilkAir Operations Control Centre Supervisor who began his career as an Aircraft Load Planner and has been with the air transport sector for over 13 years. Mr. Riduwan recently completed his Higher NITEC studies in IT and he is pursuing a Diploma in Aviation Management to gain specialist and management knowledge and skills to prepare him to take on greater responsibilities in his career. I am heartened by his passion and determination, and I look forward to his continued contributions and those of all our awardees to the aviation sector.

14.    As our sector grows in the coming decades, we will also need to recruit more manpower.

15.    This means focusing on our youth, who will constitute our future workforce. It is essential to foster their interest in aviation early and expose them to developments in the sector. Tonight, I am pleased to announce that we will be on-boarding two new schools, Compassvale Secondary and Catholic High, onto the Aviation in Schools programme, bringing the totalnumber of schools under the programme to eight. Under this programme, CAAS will provide funding and advisory support to schools to implement initiatives that pique students’ interest in aviation. Since the implementation of the programme, over 5000 students have gained exposure to the aviation sector. Some of the teachers and students are amongst the audience tonight. Let us welcome them into the aviation community.  
 
16.    In line with engaging our next generation of aviation professionals, we are launching a video competition for youths called “Planely Speaking –Your Great Aviation Story” tonight. We are inviting youths to share their personal stories on how aviation has touched their lives. Through this competition, we hope that they will develop a deeper personal appreciation of the role that aviation has played in transforming the nation and the lives of Singaporeans and that their stories will inspire more to join the aviation industry. You can find out more about the competition at the CAAS booth. Winning entries will be showcased at the Singapore Airshow Aviation Leadership Summit in February next year.

Conclusion

17.    Let me thank each and every one of you for contributing to the growth and development of our aviation sector in your own ways. If we continue to embrace a pioneering spirit and invest in both innovation and manpower development, I am confident that we can create new competitive advantages that will support sustainable good quality growth for our air hub for the long term.

18.    Thank you.