Higher travel demand putting pressure on aviation sector, even as more mid-career workers stay

Source: CNA

SINGAPORE: Just six months after joining Delta Air Lines as a customer experience specialist, Ms Sharmeet Kaur is handling more than 400 calls a month.

"When I came in, it was very nerve-racking because I didn't know anything about the aviation side. But they had very good support ... and very good team leads, who actually assisted us in the proficiencies in the systems," the 31-year-old former public servant told CNA.

"Readapting is one thing - being able to be comfortable in a new environment is another."

Ms Kaur was among more than 100 employees of the major US airline who were trained or hired under the Singapore government's Career Conversion Programme (CCP). Such a move has allowed Delta to keep up with growing travel demand post-pandemic.

According to a recent report by travel search platform Skyscanner, travel demand is expected to grow up to 15 per cent this year.

This demand, however, has led experts to warn of a lack of manpower in the aviation sector - even as more who made mid-career switches like Ms Kaur have stayed in the industry in recent years.

Workforce Singapore (WSG), a statutory board under the Manpower Ministry, told CNA that more than 4,300 people signed up for the CCP in the sector over the past six years. Nine in 10 are still employed 24 months after embarking on the CCP.

Institutes of higher learning have also reported more students taking aviation-related courses. At the Singapore Institute of Technology, for example, enrolment in its aerospace and aviation courses jumped 20 per cent between 2021 and last year.