The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) has developed a program to increase the ranks of aircraft maintenance engineers (AME) by reducing to three years the current four-year apprenticeship program.

Under the current system, Institute of Higher Learning (IHL) graduates who want to enter the career must obtain the CAAS aircraft maintenance license through an MRO employer. According to Yap Ong Heng, director general of the CAAS, by allowing IHLs to conduct some of the basic aircraft maintenance training as part of their aerospace curriculum, the students’ accumulated aircraft maintenance training hours can be counted toward the CAAS aircraft maintenance license.

The first IHL to obtain an SAR-147 approved maintenance training organization certification from CAAS is Temasek Polytechnic, which will incorporate the basic training into its aerospace engineering and aerospace electronics curriculum.

Yap 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.”