Singapore Airlines 2010 Annual Report Download - page 21

ANNUAL REPORT 2009/10
019
People Development
At the start of the financial year, the Airline
implemented various measures to address
excess staffing levels resulting from cuts in
flight capacity brought about by the economic
downturn. Such measures included a Voluntary
No-Pay Leave Scheme for all staff, Voluntary
Early Departure Schemes for technical
and cabin crew on contract, and a Special
Retirement Scheme for Singapore-based staff.
To further address excess staffing, the Airline
introduced the Shorter Work Month (SWM)
scheme, with senior management staff
(Vice-Presidents and above) taking the lead on
1 April 2009. The scheme was implemented
for all other employees on 1 May 2009, and
ended on 31 March 2010.
Following the Airline’s operating loss of S$271
million in the first quarter of the financial year,
the Monthly Variable Component (MVC) built
into staff salaries was also cut to adjust wages
in line with business performance.
Despite the challenging times, the Airline
remained committed to the training and
development of staff. It worked closely with
relevant agencies to leverage the Skills
Programme for Upgrading and Resilience
(SPUR) scheme offered by the government
for ground staff. More than 500 cabin crew
also underwent customer service and tourism-
related courses.
Building on the National Trades Union
Congress’ Labour Movement 2011 vision of a
more inclusive workplace that takes care of all
workers, the Airline, in collaboration with the
Singapore Airlines Staff Union, which represents
cabin crew and general staff, launched two
staff-centric programmes.
The first programme is aimed at equipping cabin
crew with the skills to effectively transition into
a second career beyond their flying careers with
the Airline. Part of the programme consists of a
suite of Workforce Skills Qualification courses
that enable cabin crew to obtain nationally
recognised Statements of Attainment.
The other programme aims to equip general staff
with the skills and knowledge to prepare them
for alternative employment opportunities after
their retirement from the Airline, through their
participation in certificate-based programmes in
a variety of industry sectors such as retail,
tourism, training and health services.
During the year in review, the Airline developed
a new learning framework for ground staff,
which seeks to align key competency focus
areas at various stages of the individual’s
career. Apart from new instructor-led courses,
staff will also be exposed to more effective
blended learning approaches and relevant
e-learning courseware. These new and
revamped programmes will be launched in
FY 2010-2011.
The Airline’s efforts in promoting career
opportunities received recognition from
JobsFactory, a campus recruitment specialist in
Singapore. For the second consecutive year, it
was voted top private employer of choice (2009)
in a survey of fresh local university graduates.
As at 31 March 2010, the staff strength of
SIA Group was 20,962, a decrease of 31.6%
over the previous year. 13,392 (63.9%) were
employed by the Airline, with 6,787 cabin crew
and 2,311 pilots.
For the second consecutive year,
Singapore Airlines was voted top private
employer of choice by JobsFactory.