A NEW post-diploma training programme in aircraft maintenance will soon be available to those with relevant work experience in the booming aerospace field.

The 18-month course takes in its first batch of 25 from June.

The result of a tie-up between Republic Polytechnic and Mil-Com Aerospace Training Centre, the programme is aimed at supporting the aerospace industry, further growth in which could be crimped by a manpower crunch.

The programme, which will focus on aircraft maintenance, was officially launched yesterday.

Such partnership between industry and a tertiary education institution is key to beefing up the number of skilled workers and ensuring that schools produce graduates the industry needs, executive director Aloysius Tay of the Association of Aerospace Industries Singapore told The Straits Times.

With the industry expected to grow at more than 12 per cent every year, the 110 aerospace companies based here and engaged mostly in repair and maintenance of aircraft will need about 1,500 new people every year, he noted.

But polytechnics, universities and other aviation training schools here are churning out just 1,350 aerospace graduates a year.

That number is then whittled down: About 400 go on to higher learning, after which many end up in higher-paying jobs in other industries like banking and finance.

Mr Tay said: 'We tell people this is an industry that equips them with skills that are marketable, not just in Singapore but worldwide.'

It is something Mr Kaushik Thakare, 19, who is studying aerospace avionics at Republic Polytechnic, believes.

With Asia's aviation industry booming, he said, 'this is definitely the right industry to be in and the right time to be in it'.

Not everyone thinks like he does, which is why companies here have turned to foreigners, who now take up nearly a third of the positions.

Mr Tay said that it is not the plan to shut out foreigners completely, but Singapore 'must have a stable pool of local resources' to capitalise on this fast-growing business.

To pull more people into the industry, the association works with training institutions and government agencies to organise career fairs; it recently launched an online portal which provides job-matching services.

Welcoming such initiatives, Mr Jonathan Asherson, regional director of engine-maker Rolls Royce, said the company is confident it will be able to hire enough people as its operations grow.

Rolls Royce, which has a new facility coming up at the future Seletar Aerospace Park, works closely with training and tertiary institutions like Nanyang Technological University and Ngee Ann Polytechnic to train and mentor aerospace students.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on Mar 1, 2008