Hiring by aerospace companies here was ramped up over the past two years. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY
SINGAPORE: The aerospace industry is expected to hire more than 2,500 workers here over the next three to five years to support the sector’s continued growth.
These new jobs include operator, technician, engineering and corporate roles, said the Economic Development Board (EDB) in an update on the industry’s performance and outlook.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of the Singapore Airshow 2024, EDB executive vice-president Cindy Koh said the agency has been working with aerospace companies since the last air show in 2022 to secure new investments.
It has since attracted more than S$750mil in commitments over the next three to five years for more than 10 new projects here.
They include plans by ST Engineering to build a new S$170mil 84,000-sq-m aircraft maintenance facility at Changi Airport.
Aircraft engine maker Pratt and Whitney is also increasing the capacity of its Singapore engine centre by more than 60%.
Koh said there are more than 130 aerospace companies in Singapore, and seven out of 10 aerospace jobs are taken up by locals.
Over the past two years, hiring by aerospace companies here has ramped up, with total employment in the sector increasing by almost 3,000 to more than 21,000 from 2021 to 2023.
About 22,000 people worked in the sector here in 2019, but many were laid off after the Covid-19 pandemic battered travel demand.
In 2023, Singapore’s aerospace output grew 16% year-on-year, with the recovery here outpacing global output by a year.
Preliminary estimates put Singapore’s aerospace output in 2023 at more than S$15bil, compared with close to S$13bil in 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic struck, according to EDB. — The Straits Times/ANN
