Singapore – Shopee’s parent company Sea recently inked a deal with Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) to train and hire 500 Singaporeans on eCommerce-related skills of software engineering, product management, and user experience design.
The program is part of IMDA’s ongoing initiative TechSkills Accelerator (TeSA) which aims to enhance training and placement opportunities for information and communications technology (ICT) jobs across the economy.
According to IMDA, the program, when implemented, will be the largest TeSA Company-Led Training (CLT) program ever by a Singapore-based company.
The program will include 400 entry-level and 100 mid-career Singaporean job seekers who will go through 6 months of training to be provided by Shopee.
Minister for Communications and Information S Iswaran believes that strategic partnerships with industry players are key in growing a strong pipeline of local tech talent.
“In these challenging times, the Government’s priority is to create good jobs for Singaporeans. In particular, we want to ensure that we have a strong pipeline of local tech talent equipped with the skills to secure new opportunities in the Digital Economy. Partnerships with the industry players are key,” Iswaran said.
“This collaboration with Sea Limited (Sea) is timely as it will help some 500 Singaporeans acquire the requisite skills to further their career in the ICT sector, which remains a bright spot in our economy. It also signals the scale and ambition of our ongoing national effort to create jobs and training opportunities for all Singaporeans in our economic recovery from COVID-19. I urge more companies to come forward and join us in this concerted effort,” added Iswaran.
Meanwhile, Sea’s Chairman and CEO Forest Li explained the benefits of the partnership.
“As a global consumer internet company born and bred in Singapore, we are honored to partner with IMDA on this important initiative. This program not only creates 500 highly-skilled, technical roles at Sea and Shopee for Singaporeans at all stages of their careers but also ensures that these talents can access training and development opportunities to build thriving long-term careers in the ICT sector,” said Li.
“In line with our mission to better the lives of consumers and small businesses through technology, we are committed to empowering our local communities to take full advantage of the opportunities presented by the growth of the digital economy,” he added.