Sea partners IMDA to hire and train 500 Singaporeans in tech skills

Sea and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), on 2 October, signed the memorandum of intent for a new programme to hire and train 500 Singaporeans, comprising 400 entry-level and 100 mid-career (i.e. with more than three years of working experience) job seekers.

According to a joint press release, the programme aims to boost the trainees' employment and employability outcomes as part of the broader SGUnited Jobs and Skills efforts. When implemented, the programme will be the largest ever TechSkills Accelerator (TeSA) Company-Led Training (CLT) programme by a Singapore-based company. 

The signing of the memorandum of intent between the two organisations was witnessed by Minister for Communications and Information S Iswaran. He said: “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 is key. 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.”

As part of the new TeSA CLT programme, trainees will undergo six months of on-the-job or instructor-led structured training at Shopee, Sea's e-commerce arm, in areas such as product management, software engineering and user experience design.

All trainees will get a mentor/project advisor within the same department, who will support their journey and to help them improve their knowledge and skills.

The course of training provided by Shopee will help trainees acquire foundational and specialist skills, occupational knowledge as well as get hands-on experience in project work.

Lim Teck Yong, Head of Regional Operations and People Team, Shopee, said: “As we broaden and deepen our technology capabilities, we aspire to engage talent from diverse backgrounds, develop a strong pipeline of local tech talent and upskill our employees by equipping them with the relevant skills to succeed in today’s digital economy.

"With this, Shopee is excited to embark on this new programme under the TeSA initiative, and contribute to the current employment landscape. This partnership with the Singapore Government enables us to continue investing ahead of demand and do our part to support our local communities during this period.”

Trainees who complete the programme will be equipped for success in the e-commerce and tech industry, ready to take on roles such as Data/Business Analysts, Product Managers, Software Engineers and UI/UX Designers.

While undergoing training, a monthly salary will be provided to trainees, giving them the assurance of being employed in a paid job while attending training for in-demand tech skills and gaining job experience.

All suitable trainees that complete the training will be employed by the business entities under Sea, which include Shopee Singapore and Garena Online. 

Forrest Li, Chairman and Group CEO, Sea, said: “This programme 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.”

Shopee, which opened its regional HQ in Singapore in 2019, has also conducted a range of workshops and bootcamps such as Shopee Code League that seeks to train and develop local tech talent.

Photos / Provided