Sunday, August 26, 2007
I refer to the article titled “Competitors snapping up senior CAAS staff” from The Straits Times, August 18 2007 regarding airport talent being sought after in the aviation industry.
Recently, global ‘head-hunters’ have been scouting for airport staff, reeling in Changi Airport staff. The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, or CAAS, has lost about 10 senior and management staff, including the former head of development and engineering, to competitors in India, the Middle East, Europe and the United States.
According to a CAAS spokesman, “given the buoyant global aviation scene, the global search for aviation-related talent is expected to intensify.” While Singapore has always maintained her reputation as having one of the finest airports in the world, it is very evident that others are catching up. Engineers and other airport staff are in high demand, and in order to retain her airport staff, Singapore has to remain competitive. Indeed, about two-thirds of CAAS staff has received salary increments from 3-5% in April. Apparently, this was not enough for some. Although Singapore has a head start in the industry, in order to retain and employ staff, it will have to spend more on wages, and loss of staff is something they will have to accept. Countries like China and India have grown tremendously recently, and with such potential, a lot of investment will be put into these countries. What Singapore, and other countries and corporations that already have a sizable stake in the industry, has to do is to make themselves relevant in today’s industry full of rising powers.
However, it is not all bad news for CAAS. As its spokesman puts it, “this is evidence that CAAS is recognised internationally as a world-class organisation and our people are of value to the international industry.” It will take some effort for the new powers to surpass the current aviation giants, and what better way is there than to recruit the elite staff? The fact that aviation companies internationally seek talent from Singapore reveals a lot about Singapore’s position in today’s aviation industry. While we still have to retain these talents, we are training and building up quite a pool of talents in our field. As our Prime minister has said, we need talents in Singapore for us to remain competitive worldwide. Evidently, we are capable of providing and training our own talents, so much so that other countries are trying to reel them in. While we have to remember to maintain our position in this competitive era, we can take pride in the knowledge that we are among the forefront of the aviation industry.
What all this means for the talents themselves, is that they are highly valued and needed in today’s world and they can expect to find competitive offers. They have indeed benefited from their training and education, and the as the aviation industry expands, they can expect to see their worth expanding along with it. To these aviation staff, I congratulate you on selecting the right career choice, however, careers are not everything. Though you may get a lucrative job offer say, in Europe, there are other factors to consider besides wages, such as family. The best choice is often to stay in Singapore with your friends and family.
As with all highly competitive industries, the party who benefits most is the consumer. What we, the consumers, can expect from this booming aviation industry is greater service for lower cost.