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This initiative is part of the government body's efforts to support the adoption of EVs and realise Singapore's Green Plan 2030 through an upskilled workforce.
Singapore's Land Transport Authority (LTA) has partnered with 21 organisations, comprising automotive industry partners, vehicle fleet owners, training providers, and other government agencies, to train and certify automotive technicians in the safety-related areas of electric vehicles (EV) maintenance and servicing.
This move, cemented on 30 May 2022 (Monday) via the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU), is part of the government body's efforts to upskill the local workforce to support the adoption of EVs and realise Singapore's Green Plan 2030.
Under the MOU, the involved parties will identify a set of baseline competencies for safe handling of high voltage systems, as well as electrical troubleshooting and diagnostics. These competencies then form the fundamental knowledge and skills in EV maintenance and repair, which technicians need to acquire before handling such vehicles.
According to LTA's statement, it will work with SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) and training providers, such as the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) College West, Singapore Polytechnic, and Ngee Ann Polytechnic, to develop and implement foundational training courses based on the list of identified competencies. The training courses are expected to be available in the second half of 2022.
"To ensure the affordability of these training courses, LTA will work with SSG to provide baseline course fee subsidies of up to 70% to help offset course fees," shared in its statement.
In addition to the training courses, a new national-level certification programme will also be established to recognise automotive technicians who have completed these courses, and successfully attain the required competencies. The certification, reaffirmed by LTA, will be recognised by all the parties in the MOU, and will pave the way for technicians to subsequently take further specialised training in EV maintenance.
Beyond that, the government body will also work with SSG and Workforce Singapore (WSG) to reskill new and existing automotive technicians to take on these roles through programmes such as SSG’s SkillsFuture Career Transition Programme, and WSG’s Career Conversion Programme (CCP) scheme, which eligible companies or participants may receive salary support for the training duration. This is LTA's supplement measure to further build a pipeline of skilled workforce for EV maintenance roles.
Separately, LTA has also signed another MOU with ITE to designate ITE College West as Singapore Bus Academy’s second satellite assessment centre, after Republic Polytechnic was appointed as the first satellite centre in January 2022.
This is part of an overall move to bring Singapore towards a 100% cleaner-energy bus fleet by 2040, and ensure a steady pipeline of qualified professionals is available to support and maintain the public bus industry in its transition towards more sustainable public transport modes. For information, bus technicians from the four public bus operators - SBS Transit, SMRT Buses, Tower Transit Singapore, and Go-Ahead Singapore - will be able to tap on the two satellite assessment centres for training and assessment of technicians in the maintenance and servicing of electric and hybrid buses.
"A joint certificate issued by LTA and the Institution of Engineers, Singapore (IES) will be awarded to those who have passed the technical competency assessment under IES’ national chartership scheme for technicians," shared in LTA's statement.
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Image / LTA's Facebook
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