As a Customer Service Agent (CSA) at Changi Airport, Presilla Sebastian Selamany helps Singapore Airlines' passengers check-in for their flights, assisting them to check their identity, issue boarding passes, accept luggage and attend to other flight-related enquiries.
The mother-of-two currently works rotating shifts with irregular working hours.
The shift work makes it challenging for her to have a healthy work-life balance and spend time with her family.
However, with the proposed incorporation of more sustainable shifts, she can look forward more quality time with her family and improved physical and mental wellness.
The 45-year-old is also keen to take up the new CSA+ role SATS will be rolling out soon. The enhanced role will give Presilla a chance to take on supervisory work and more challenging tasks, like overseeing boarding control for smaller flights, bringing her one step closer to her dream of becoming a Customer Service Officer.
“It is good to know that the company is giving such an opportunity to staff. They can get the confidence to go up to the next level.
“I am hopeful that this will get our people excited and happy with the challenges and opportunities,” she said.
Presilla is one of around 500 SATS staff who can look forward to growing her career. She is also one of the 33,000 aviation and aerospace workers benefiting from an NTUC Company Training Committee.
SATS is the first aviation and aerospace company to work with NTUC to pilot projects to improve jobs and make them more attractive to Singaporeans.
With the help of the Air-Transport Executive Staff Union (AESU) and SATS Workers’ Union (SATSWU), the unionised company leveraged the NTUC Company Training Committee Grant (CTC Grant) to transform jobs in passenger services, cargo and apron operations.
With the industry poised for growth, SATS faces the challenge of getting enough manpower to meet demand. SATS Gateway Services CEO Bob Chi said that the company aims to increase productivity by 50 per cent by the mid-2030s, focusing on attracting and retaining employees.
“That’s why this job redesign is very key for us. The grants are also key because this is seed funding for us to start the project at the very beginning, cutting across all three operations of our passenger handling.
“What we [also] need to do is to be able to attract and retain this cohort of people in the airline or airport industry. [We want to move into] job enlargement because the staff would like to see what they can do more, and eventually even job simplification because that’s where we can reduce stress and burnout,” he explained.
Aside from the new CSA+ role and flexible work arrangements, passenger services staff can also look forward to enhanced job efficiency with the Mobility Asset Tracking System, reducing the time taken to track and deploy devices like wheelchairs.
NTUC Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng announced the pilot projects on 26 August 2024 at Singapore’s first Aerospace and Aviation Symposium.
NTUC’s Aerospace and Aviation cluster, NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute) and the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) jointly organised the event to highlight key industry trends and emerging skills and capabilities.
Existing and potential aviation and aerospace workers can expect careers to take flight amidst the growing aviation and aerospace sector, which has rebounded post-pandemic.
The positive outlook for the sector includes Changi Airport Terminal 5 opening in the mid-2030s and passenger numbers doubling across Asia by 2040.
Speaking at the symposium, Mr Ng encouraged all workers in the sector to continue training so they can cope with disruptions and thrive in the ever-evolving industry.
“Let’s have the agility of mind, the humility that we can do better, and upgrade ourselves at the individual level to look at better strategies.
“[We should also] upgrade ourselves to look at how we can explore emerging technologies in all areas. Union leaders, upgrade yourself in deep specialisations, so that you can be more relevant in the aviation industry,” he said.
Jobseekers can also use the OneAviation Careers Hub (OACH) to find jobs and receive career advice and training.
The initiative has assisted over 3,000 jobseekers and helped more than 1,300 individuals find jobs in the sector. The OACH will be enhanced to train and advance existing workers’ careers and create awareness of career opportunities for youth.
Mr Ng called on employers looking to improve their business to join the CTC initiative and use the CTC Grant to fund business transformation projects.
The Labour Chief also highlighted NTUC’s plan to embark on a cluster approach concept to grow the CTC ecosystem. NTUC is encouraging leading companies to influence their suppliers to join the CTC initiative, thereby helping more workers and employers to benefit.
He shared that NTUC is currently working on the new cluster approach with ST Engineering and urged more employers to follow suit.
Employers may be keen to know that NTUC and industry stakeholders will continue looking at how companies can adapt to new technologies and industry transformation through a panel discussion at the symposium.
The CTC initiative has trained and improved the salaries and career prospects of over 200,000 workers in various industries.
Launched in April 2019, the CTC involves company, union and worker representatives working together to enhance business operations and equip workers with new skills for better job prospects.
Over 2,300 CTCs have been formed to date.
Employers can tap into the CTC Grant, which was introduced in 2022 to provide funding for employers embarking on business improvement projects.
Employers can apply for the CTC Grant to cover up to 70 per cent of project costs.
As of March 2024, around 3,000 workers involved in CTC Grant projects will enjoy an average pay increase of 5 per cent on top of their annual increment or from career development plans. Around 800 workers are from the aerospace and aviation industry.
Employers can approach NTUC to form a CTC:
Unionised companies: contact your union.
Non-unionised: sme@ntuc.org.sg
Employers can apply for the CTC Grant at https://www.e2i.com.sg/ctc/.
