Cooperation between Singapore Civil Aviation and the Singapore Scout Association gets materialized with the establishment of a Singapore Youth Aviation Advisory Board. The collaboration is due to intensifying efforts in youth outreach and awareness-building in aviation, including through industry participation.
SINGAPORE- The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and the Singapore Scout Association (SSA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish a Youth Aviation Advisory Board (YAAB) to expand their cooperation in promoting awareness and interest in aviation and its careers amongst youth in Singapore as well as Air Scout co-curricular activities in schools, especially primary and secondary schools.
“CAAS is engaging the industry and partners on developing the next generation of aviation professionals. With its rejuvenated Air Scouts programme with greater industry relevance and its reach among youths, SSA is a valuable partner in our pursuit to ignite and sustain interest and passion for aviation amongst the young. The YAAB is an important platform to drive efforts towards this goal,” said Yap Ong Heng, Director-General, CAAS.
The revamped Air Scouts programme has integrated various unique elements to provide students with a strong understanding of Singapore’s aviation industry. It gives students opportunities to gain practical experiences and to interact with the people and learn from professionals in the aviation industry. The revamped programme also provides students a well-rounded exposure to aviation under eight core domains – principles of flight, aerospace operations, meteorology, aero engine, practical skills, navigation, air traffic control and communications and flight safety and airmanship.
Tan Cheng Kiong, Chief Commissioner of SSA shared, “This is a significant milestone for the SSA Air Scout Section as the revamped programme was developed after many rounds of consultations with educational and industry partners, in particular CAAS. This consultative approach ensures that the development of our youth programme is aligned and relevant to the industry and our society.”
A number of the SSA’s pilot projects under the Air Scouts programme were supported by CAAS through the Aviation Youth Outreach Seed Fund 1. These include the launch of the Young Aviators Badge course to introduce young scouts to Singapore aviation, its history and achievements as well as basic aviation and aerodynamic principles. SSA has also been establishing Aviation Clubs – Air Scout units – within schools. They offer to members, activities, such as flight experiences, aeromodelling, aeroplane spotting to name a few. The clubs will provide full-fledged aviation programmes, with customised training methodologies and progression tracks.
To date, CAAS has reached out to over 16,000 youths through its various youth outreach programmes such as the Aviation Learning Journeys, Aviation Open House, Youth Aviation Ambassador programme and the We are Aviators Facebook page.
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
