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

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 glowing 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 training and make skills more transferable across operators.

It will also expand its training scope beyond engineers to include technicians and operations staff and professionalise training by providing new industry certification pathways.  

For example, the academy will develop a new sector-wide professional certification scheme to recognise rail professionals who demonstrate “exceptional expertise and mastery” in rail maintenance and operations, LTA said.

The target is for 20 per cent of the rail operations and maintenance workforce to be recognised under this certification scheme, LTA added.

From early 2027, the academy will also progressively establish a rail-sector Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) certification framework, starting from Basic Certificates in Railway Operations and Railway Maintenance. 

An advisory panel comprising local and international rail experts will also be convened to provide strategic guidance and share best practices on training and capability development.

“Taken together, these changes to the Rail Academy will help us build a stronger pipeline of skilled train professionals ... with clear standards and pathways to progress,” said Mr Siow.

GROWING NEEDS FOR SKILLED RAIL WORKERS

Mr Siow noted that the responsibilities of transport workers have changed over the years as the public transport system evolves.

The government is progressively electrifying Singapore’s bus fleet, with half of public buses to be electric by 2030 and the entire fleet to run on cleaner energy by 2040.

For bus engineers and technicians, this means learning to work with new high-voltage battery systems, electrical components and digital diagnostic tools – which are “entirely different” from managing a conventional diesel bus, said Mr Siow.

At the same time, Singapore’s MRT network is also ageing, and older lines will need to undergo major renewals even as the network continues to expand.

“In fact, we will shift our emphasis from opening new lines, to maintaining and upgrading existing ones,” Mr Siow said.

This was why authorities began extended scheduled closures of parts of the rail network for major upgrading projects last year, allowing projects to be carried out more quickly, efficiently and safely.

“As we focus more on upgrading and maintenance, we must build up an army of engineers and technicians who understand these systems deeply, who can make sound decisions, and carry out works safely,” Mr Siow said.