London-headquartered Rolls-Royce expects about 80% of the planned expanded head count for this year will be for maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) ventures, Bicky Bhangu, the company’s president of Southeast Asia, Pacific and South Korea, said today during a briefing. An additional 130 trainees will be hired across the network, he said.

“We do see an anticipated growth in the MRO activities and we need to be future ready,” Bhangu said. “The near-term growth is definitely in the MRO side of things. That’s why we’re hiring 150 people this year.”

Airlines must carry out inspections of their planes regularly to ensure they’re fit to fly. The recent moves by a growing number of countries, including Australia and Vietnam, to reopen borders to international travel after extended periods of having them closed has also increased the need for jet maintenance.

In Singapore, Rolls-Royce manufactures fan blades for its Trent engines that power Airbus SE’s A350 passenger and cargo planes as well as Boeing Co’s 787s. The company also has a venture with SIA Engineering Co, the aircraft-maintenance arm of Singapore Airlines Ltd, for engine MRO operations.

The 2022 Singapore Airshow kicks off in the city-state next week.