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ICAO Council President impressed with TP's Aviation Programs

It is indeed a proud day for aviation at Temasek Polytechnic (TP) when the President of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) council, Roberto Kobeh González, visited Temasek Polytechnic (TP) on August 5, 2009. During a tour of TP conducted by PCEO, Mr Kobeh visited LTT and IDC Asia and was very impressed with TP's aviation training programmes, the passion of TP's students and staff, and TP's innovative efforts to meet the increasing demands of the aviation industry.

The ICAO is a specialised agency of the United Nations which oversees the safe and orderly development of all aspects of international civil aviation.

Speaking at a special tea reception held in his honour at TP, Mr. Kobeh drew from his personal experiences and shared with students, staff and industry partners, his views on the present economic situation and how he thinks education will be a key initiative to steer the aviation industry from turbulence towards recovery.

Mr. Kobeh's visit to TP, his first to an educational institution in Asia, was part of his visit to Singapore at the joint invitation of Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo and Minister for Transport Raymond Lim, who is also Second Minister for Foreign Affairs.

It is under the auspices of Singapore’s International Organisations Distinguished Visitors Programme, which invites outstanding individuals from international organisations, such as the United Nations and ICAO, to visit Singapore.

Students were glad to hear from Mr. Kobeh that "Opportunities will also be created by thousands of new aircraft coming on line which would require the training of hundreds of thousands of additional pilots, mechanics and air traffic controllers, in addition to managers for the organizations that will hire them."

Mr. Kobeh also praised TP's industry guests and reinforced what many of them already knew. He said, "By working with educational institutions like TP, you stand to increase your pool of future employees, tailor their skills to suit the future direction of your business, and complement the global pool of skilled aviation personnel." and highlighted the importance of internships as "They provide opportunities for students to experience working in a real working environment, while cutting down on the time and expense of training future employees."

Mr. Kobeh concluded his speech with some very motivating words. He told the students to "keep the passion alive in whatever you do. Do not be daunted by passing difficulties. If aviation is your chosen field, remember that the industry has always, always bounced back from setbacks stronger than before. The clouds are dissipating on the horizon. Your time is coming."

With such an upbeat and inspiring message, Mr. Kobeh ended his visit by meeting with the VIPs of the occasion, the students.