Singapore: Aviation sector commits to filling over 17,500 training places

All major firms in Singapore's aviation sector have committed to sending their workers to fill more than 17,500 training places as the industry grapples with the suspension of flights due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) said Sunday. Top officials from Singapore Airlines, Scoot, and airport and food services provider Sats affirmed this at a closed-door dialogue last Friday with NTUC secretary-general Ng Chee Meng. These companies will use the downtime to speed up workers' training and upgrading, including for professionals, managers and executives in the sector, "developing real technical capabilities and capacities" through the use of digital technologies, NTUC said. Ng said he was heartened to see aviation sector unions and companies working together to send workers for training during this period, and that government assistance such as the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) will help firms save on manpower costs as they invest in their workforce. Launched in Budget 2020 and enhanced in the supplementary Resilience Budget, the JSS will provide the aviation and tourism sectors with 75% salary support for the first $4,600 of each local employee's gross monthly wage.<br/>