CAAS moves to raise aviation industry

For the aviation industry in Singapore to enhance its competitiveness even further, the industry needs to raise its productivity and increase its access to new markets and business opportunities. To this end, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) has expanded the scope of the programmes under its Aviation Development Fund (ADF), with the enhancement of the Aviation Innovation Programme (AIP) and the addition of the Aviation Promotion Programme (AProP). “The global aviation landscape is increasingly marked by challenges, demands and pressures, requiring aviation companies to stay ahead in the highly competitive environment. The two initiatives launched under the Aviation Development Fund will provide platforms for aviation companies in Singapore to grow their businesses and keep Singapore at the forefront of aviation,” said Mr Yap Ong Heng, Director-General, CAAS. Aviation Promotion Programme AProP is the fourth initiative under the ADF (the others are the Aviation Innovation Programme, the Aviation Partnership Programme and the Aviation Manpower Programme), first launched in 2010, with a budget of Sin$5 million from 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2015. Open to Singapore-registered companies, organisations and industry trade associations, AProP aims to strengthen the Singapore aviation brand and help Singapore companies to expand their reach in international markets and their access to business opportunities. The AProp will assist Singapore companies to showcase their products and services at major international trade shows. Singapore companies will be encouraged to exhibit under a Singapore Pavilion, contributing to enhancing the city state’s position as a comprehensive aviation hub. AProP will also encourage the adoption of international best practices at the cluster level by supporting business missions, study trips and consultancy studies by Singapore companies, organizations and industry trade associations. Aviation Innovation Programme The AIP has been expanded to bolster the productivity of the Singapore aviation industry. Launched in 2010 with a budget of $25 million over 5 years, the AIP seeks to encourage organisations to embark on innovative projects, initially to develop new or enhanced capabilities. With its enhanced scope, the AIP will now also support companies embarking on projects geared towards achieving transformative productivity goals, i.e. significant and sustainable productivity gains of at least 20%. These can include process reengineering, the adoption of new technologies and the development of new tools to increase operational efficiency. The programme continues to be open to all Singapore registered companies and organisations and those with a presence in Singapore; including institutes of higher learning and research centres. Process Innovation Challenge In 2011, CAAS launched the Process Innovation Challenge to encourage aviation companies to implement “quick win” projects to improve their productivity. The top 8 projects received funding of up to $50,000 each. These companies will now share their projects via various industry platforms, including a Productivity in Aviation Seminar to be held in July 2012, to facilitate intra-industry learning and accelerate the adoption of productivity improvement initiatives across the aviation sector in Singapore.