Work in the air CAAS scholar Gerald Ng deals with issues in civil aviation By Ahmad Osman CIVIL Aviation Authority of Singapore scholar (CAAS) Gerald Ng, 28, has never had a boring moment in the three years he has worked with the organisation after his graduation. His involvement in air services negotiations with foreign governments and civil aviation authorities requires him to travel regularly. He has also represented CAAS and Singapore in international and regional forums. He was also closely involved in the expansion of Singapore’s low-cost carriers. In his first week at work, he was tasked with marketing Changi Airport as a destination for foreign airlines and had to meet up with numerous foreign and local airline representatives. He says: “Through these discussions, I had a more informed perspective of the industry and was better able to ensure that the policies which CAAS and the Ministry of Transport (MOT) jointly implemented were tailored for Singapore.” Currently seconded to MOT for two years, Mr Ng works with his CAAS colleagues to ensure that Singapore continues to grow as one of the premier air hubs in the region. As an assistant director in the air transport division, he helps to formulate and implement Singapore’s aviation policies. He says: “The experience I gained during my formative three years has been invaluable,” he says. “I am better able to appreciate the sentiments of the industry players and bear these in mind when crafting policies.” Since his posting to MOT six months ago, he has been involved in several projects, such as being a member of the Singapore delegation for air services consultations with its Malaysian counterparts. He supports the work carried out by Singapore as a council member of the International Civil Aviation Organisation in Montreal. He also deals with competition law issues, and is involved in the development of Singapore’s air cargo sector, as well as the ongoing corporatisation exercise for Changi Airport. He says: “I enjoy dealing with challenging issues and having variety in my job. “My work at CAAS and MOT thus far has been a very good fit in tis regard. I have been exposed to a myriad of learning opportunities within Singapore and whenever I am on duty travel. “My work took me to diverse locales and I made acquaintances with public and private sector individuals with colourful personalities.” Mr Ng adds that although his job involves a fair amount of policy formulation and paper writing, it is far from being desk bound. “We have to be out there actively consulting industry stakeholders and negotiating with our foreign counterparts in order to implement the optimal aviation policies for Singapore,” he says. Such exposure and learning opportunities are precisely the reasons why Mr Ng decided on a CAAS scholarship after receiving his A-level results in 1998. He says: “CAAS appealed to me as an organisation that is dynamic, with varied opportunities to be involved in both aviation development for Singapore and policy work, and with a management team that is willing to reach out to and nurture new CAAS officers.” Mr Ng did his bachelor’s degree in economics from Cornell University and his masters in international policy studies from Stanford University in the United States. He says that the courses gave him a good grounding in analysing issues and an awareness of the complexities involved and the wide impact on the public of policymaking. Interacting with fellow students in the same cohort at Stanford University was a beneficial experience for him. “These students came from different backgrounds and offered a range of perspectives during our discussion sessions. “This is important as my current work involves meeting with both external and internal parties, both of whom hold different perspectives of how to approach the issue, notwithstanding different agendas, and we have to work together to derive mutually-beneficial outcomes,” says Mr Ng.