One-stop centre to help Singaporean bus drivers better skills, careers
By Olivia Siong and Sharon See
POSTED: 12 Sep 2014 15:09
UPDATED: 12 Sep 2014 15:12
The Bus Career Development Centre, which will open next year, could help at least 3,000 Singaporean drivers, and will feature 16 simulators to train its drivers.
SINGAPORE: At least 3,000 Singaporean bus drivers could get to improve their driving skills and, in doing so, advance their careers with the opening of the first Bus Career Development Centre in Singapore.
The centre is one of the initiatives to professionalise Singapore's bus industry by the Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) and SMRT, who signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Friday (Sep 12).
To be located at the Devan Nair Institute for Employment and Employability, the one-stop centre could improve the training for bus drivers over the first three years of its operation. Set to be ready in the second quarter of next year, it will be open to both public and private bus operators in Singapore.
The centre will feature 16 simulators for training, which will improve the training quality and safety of drivers, as they learn how to react in emergency situations and to navigate different buses, weather and road conditions virtually before starting on-the-job. The simulator was developed by ST Electronics, which has built simulators for use in aviation, maritime and ground transport.
Said Vice President of ST Electronic's Land Business Division Tan Peng Soon: "We're going to do a lot of localisation and customisation unique to Singapore. For example, the bus types that will be used, local traffic conditions as well as road users' behaviours. And these systems will also replicate local conditions, even weather conditions that will really enhance the training capability."
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The simulators have the ability to connect and form a network, and this allows for team-based learning, said Mr Tan Kian Heong, Vice President of SMRT Buses.
"We are building a simulator where it can allow up to 16 bus captains to train together, together with the service controller," said Mr Tan Kian Heong. "So this allows for a more coordinated training."
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Another initiative, together with the National Transport Workers' Union (NTWU), is a progressive wage model for staff in SMRT Buses, which charts out career pathways and gives staff better defined routes of advancement. It will also allow workers to regularly improve their skills to keep pace with the industry, said e2i and SMRT.
"We see a lot of drivers whose whole life is being a driver. Now, in this centre, we want to develop them the skills, we want to give them the knowledge, know-how and also the opportunity to progress, from not just a driver but in future they can be a bus supervisor, operation manager or service controller," said Ms Laura Lum, Deputy Director of e2i.
The actual simulator that will be used for training is still being worked on and will only be operational from the second quarter of 2015. However, a mock-up will be available for the public to try at the Bus Carnival, which is open until Saturday at the e2i's building in Jurong.
- CNA/do/av
