Set to produce aircraft technicians
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah is on track in producing skilled manpower in aviation industry as the Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park (KKIP) Aerospace Training Centre will be collaborating with established companies in aircraft maintenance training and anchor vendor initiatives, said Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal.
The Chief Minister said the centre will be a platform to attract more young Sabahans to join the aircraft technical and maintenance industry.
Sabah must develop the skills of young Sabahans, particularly in aircraft maintenance, as the world is slowly reviving the tourism industry following the Covid-19 pandemic, he said when visiting the training centre and witnessing the signing ceremony between the companies yesterday.
“Five years ago, the United Nations indicated that the tourism industry would be up to the magnitude of US$3 trillion, but unfortunately, it subsided due to Covid-19.
“However, I am quite sure things will recover fast, and aviation industry will be fully utilised again,” he said, adding that when the industry is revived, maintenance must be there.
“We need to start training them so we can overcome any shortage of aircraft engineers and technicians regionally, ” he added.
In those early days, Shafie said there were many aircraft that couldn’t fly, as they have to wait for replacement from Kuala Lumpur.
Aerospace Training Centre is the first approved aircraft maintenance training centre in Malaysia that is having dual approval – Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Part 147 to conduct Category A1
Aircraft Maintenance Technician training.
The training centre is set to position Sabah to tap into the high value-added aerospace industry, further propelling Sabah into a high-income state.
The training Centre is set to be a leading aerospace facility in Southeast Asia under the Malaysian Aerospace Industry Blueprint.
Looking at the projected revenue from the aerospace industry, the return is expected to reach RM55.2 billion in 2030. It is an increase of 245 per cent from the RM16 billion revenue in 2019.
Shafie’s visit yesterday was accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister cum state Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau.
Also present was Deputy Chief Minister cum state Tourism, Culture, and Environment Minister Datuk Christina Liew, KKIP Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Datuk Melvin Disimond, and KKIAP Aerospace Sdn Bhd chairman Dr Oh Ei Sun.
During the opening speech, Madius congratulated KKIP Aerospace Sdn Bhd (KKIP Aerospace), a wholly owned subsidiary of KKIP Sdn Bhd as well as its JV partner Lembaran Asia Sdn Bhd for the development of KKIP Aerospace Training Centre.
“I understand that this is going to be the first approved aircraft maintenance training centre in Malaysia that is having dual approval – the first being the local Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM), as well as an international endorsement under the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Part 147 to conduct Category A1 Aircraft Maintenance Technician training.
“The graduates of KKIP Aerospace Training Centre will be equipped with comprehensive skills, spaced out into 12 modules.
“Amongst others, training will commence in the areas of avionics, engine, body and composite works both in theory as well as on-thejob-training in this hangar building and also hangars of collaborating MROs (maintenance and repair organisations),” he said.
Madius added those graduates of Category A1 Aircraft Maintenance Technicians would be accorded with the said dual licensing to work in the aerospace industry.
The dual licensing is important because the graduates will not only be able to work within the local aerospace industry but also internationally.
Madius also noted a technician graduating from the training centre with dual licensing would fetch a monthly salary of up to RM5,000 locally.
For experienced aerospace graduates seeking employment in Dubai, they could get a starting monthly salary of USD8,000 (RM34,088), he added.
KKIP Aerospace is also in the process of establishing an aerospace training hub, as it will have collaborations with MASwings Sdn Bhd, Layang- Layang Aerospace, Mega Aerospace Sdn Bhd and CAAC Malaysia Sdn Bhd for on-the-job trainings; as well as with Bataras
Sdn Bhd and the Department of Industrial Research and Development for anchor-vendor development programmes.
The KKIP Aerospace Training Centre is equipped with hangar, classrooms and workshops, 120 airconditioned hostel rooms furnished with bed sets, study tables and wardrobes, as well as shared washroom and laundry room.
The state’s aerospace training centre also has Autogyro Cavalon 915 and Hawker Siddeley HS-125400A live aircrafts. The Autogyro Cavalon is the first aircraft to operate in Sabah.
It operates with a minimum of 100 litres RON95 fuel for six hours at the speed of 17 knots or 130 kilometres/hour.
At the maximum take-off weight of 500kg, the aircraft using a piston engine could go up to 12,000 feet.
During Shafie’s visit to KKIP, the Chief Minister also made his round to the Sabah Creative Economy and Innovation Centre and the proposed site for the construction of a glass factory.
The RM2.374 billion glass manufacturing investment is to be built on a 230-acre of land covering Industrial Zone 9 and Zone 7. It is expected to create 1,150 job opportunities.