The Singapore Aviation Academy, the training unit of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), has begun a review of its training curriculum, as part of a broader revamp that will also see an increase in training capacity.
The academy will undergo a S$120 million ($89.2 million) expansion over the next two years, allowing it to expand training capacity by 20%. Work is expected to commence in April, and be completed in 2026.
The CAAS says it will refresh the current curriculum “to better equip aviation professionals with new competencies to help them navigate the post-Covid world”. Among key changes include a consolidation of its specialised schools into three entities, with the appointment of a senior professional staff to head them.
The three schools cover topics in aviation management, aviation safety and security, as well as air traffic services.
The CAAS will also appoint ‘senior fellows’ who will “guide curriculum development” as well as “personally deliver” training programmes targeted at C-suite executives and director-generals. The five ‘senior fellows’ appointed includes former EASA director Patrick Ky, as well as former Singapore Airlines operations chief Mak Swee Wah.
The CAAS says the newly-announced changes “will help [the academy] strengthen its position as a leader in civil aviation training, a convenor of global expertise and experience, and a thought leader in civil aviation”.
CAAS director-general Han Kok Juan says: “Demands of the aviation sector have changed significantly after the Covid-19 pandemic. CAAS is conducting a sector-wide manpower study to establish what Singapore needs. [The academy’s] enhancement will support this to ensure that the Singapore air hub has a strong pipeline of highly-qualified, highly-trained aviation professionals with deep expertise.”
The expansion announcement comes as the agency signs two separate agreements – one with ICAO and another with the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations – for future training.
ICAO is tapping on the academy to develop and deliver up to seven runs of a refreshed directors-general programme on aviation safety over a three-year period.
With the pilots’ associations, the Singapore Aviation Academy will be working on developing and conducting safety programmes for pilots and other safety professionals, in areas such as competency development and safety culture.
