Singapore Rail Academy to partner 5 educational institutions to help rail workers gain formal qualifications

Singapore Rail Academy to partner 5 educational institutions to help rail workers gain formal qualifications The revamped academy will also bring together existing training by LTA, SMRT and SBS Transit under a consolidated curriculum. SINGAPORE: The Singapore Rail Academy will partner five educational institutions to help rail workers gain formal qualifications by making it easier for their on-the-job training and industry certifications to count towards diplomas and degrees. The partnership, announced by Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow on Saturday (Oct 24), is part of a broader revamp of the academy from November that will also see training programmes by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and rail operators SMRT and SBS Transit brought under a common curriculum. Speaking at the Land Transport Authority’s (LTA) BusTech and RailTech Grand Challenge at the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) College West, Mr Siow said the partnership would make it easier for students to enter the rail industry and for existing workers to pursue further qualifications. The five educational institutions are ITE, Nanyang Polytechnic, Republic Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic, and the Singapore Institute of Technology. Currently, industry certifications earned at operators or at the academy are not always recognised when a rail worker pursues formal diplomas or degrees later on, Mr Siow noted. The partnership aims to bridge this gap by linking industry training more closely with formal education. For instance, a student who takes up the Work-Study Diploma in Land Transport Engineering at ITE College West can gain practical experience with public transport operators while studying. After graduating and joining the workforce, the student can continue attending training programmes and earning certifications at the academy. If the worker subsequently decides to pursue a higher qualification, these certifications and training could count towards the next academic milestone. “He or she does not have to start from scratch,” Mr Siow said. “In all, our students will know that the future in this industry is bright. It is a growing and thriving industry. And no matter where you start, there are clear pathways for you to go further.” LTA said the institutes of higher learning will develop more structured and complementary education and training programmes for the rail sector. These programmes will form pathways for new and existing rail professionals to build up industry-relevant skills and qualifications, including at the Higher Nitec and diploma levels. Institutes of higher learning will also explore new work-study programmes with public transport operators, allowing rail workers to pursue further qualifications while gaining practical industry experience, LTA said. Executive dean of the Singapore Rail Academy Lew Yii Der said the expanded academy marks an “important step forward” in strengthening Singapore’s rail workforce as the rail network grows and technology advances. “(The academy) will therefore provide more opportunities for them to deepen their expertise, develop new skills, help our rail professionals keep pace through training and professional development, while providing clearer pathways for them to deepen their skills and progress in their careers,” he said. EXPANDED TRAINING SCOPE, NEW CERTIFICATION SCHEME The overhaul of the Singapore Rail Academy follows recommendations by the Rail Reliability Taskforce, as Singapore seeks to strengthen its rail workforce amid an ageing and increasingly complex MRT network. Established by LTA in 2017, the academy currently conducts more than 20 training sessions annually for about 500 engineers who are new to the rail industry. Rail operators SMRT and SBS also run their own training programmes for their wider operations and maintenance workforces, including competencies specific to each rail line. Under the revamped academy, these programmes will be consolidated into a common curriculum to standardise tr…