Shopee partners SkillsFuture Singapore to uplift e-commerce skills capabilities in SMEs

As the first e-commerce partner under the SkillsFuture Queen Bee programme, the partnership reinforces the significance of public-private collaboration in building a sustainable skills ecosystem to support the rising demand in e-commerce

Shopee, the leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia and Taiwan, has partnered SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) to help local SMEs build up knowledge and skills to operate and excel in e-commerce. As a SkillsFuture Queen Bee partner, Shopee will take on the chief stewardship role to work with its SME sellers to map out their skills needs and formulate a training plan that will support their digital transformation as they expand into e-commerce.

The pandemic has created an irreversible change in online shopping behaviour and as a result, e-commerce has become a lifeline for many businesses. As a leader in e-commerce, Shopee understands the challenges that sellers, in particular SMEs, face as they foray into e-commerce. It is not sufficient to open a shop front on the platform and be able to sell effectively. To address the needs of the SMEs, Shopee will create a skills support ecosystem through the SkillsFuture Queen Bee programme by bringing its SME sellers together to learn and build up the necessary capabilities to excel in e-commerce. 

For a start, 30 SME sellers will be supported through the SkillsFuture Queen Bee programme. The participating SMEs will be assisted by a Skills Manager who will plan, source, design and implement a skills training plan that is tailored to the needs of the SMEs. Besides benefitting from the dedicated Skills Manager support, SMEs can also look forward to thought-leadership sharing from Shopee and other industry experts, as well as participation in curated training programmes in key areas such as digital marketing and data analytics. 

Dr Michael Fung, Deputy Chief Executive (Industry), SSG said: “The partnership with Shopee is another milestone progress of our SkillsFuture Queen Bee initiative to partner private sector leaders to drive skills transformation amongst enterprises. E-commerce is a key focus for many businesses and we are glad to have Shopee as a committed partner to help our business community, particularly the SMEs, to develop the needed skillsets to transform the selling aspect of their business, and take advantage of the vast opportunities in e-commerce.”  

Zhou Junjie, Chief Commercial Officer, Shopee said: “At Shopee, brands and sellers form the backbone of our business, and we are committed to empowering them to launch, scale and succeed online. As the first e-commerce platform company to be appointed as a SkillsFuture Queen Bee, we hope to continue equipping entrepreneurs and SMEs with the relevant skills and capabilities to accelerate their digital transformation. Being a proudly homegrown company, the SkillsFuture Queen Bee initiative fortifies Shopee’s dedication to growing the local e-commerce landscape, as we continue to create a community of knowledge- and resource-sharing in the e-commerce sector in Singapore.”
 
“Public-private collaboration also plays an important role in driving the advancement of the tech industry, and Shopee will continue to work closely with local governments to advance the digital economy and help businesses access new opportunities online.”

Shopee, as a SkillsFuture Queen Bee, will also provide the following to help upskill SMEs: 

1) Shopee Seller Services Directory Portal
A one-stop portal with resources and courses to support sellers in their online growth journey. Sellers can easily access a wide range of vendors such as vendor listing for storage space and packaging materials, and support grants from the government such as the Digital Resilience Bonus.

2) Seller Influencers Programme
A community-driven initiative to sustain learning momentum and peer networking where five high-performing Shopee sellers will be selected to take on the role of a "seller influencer" to lead their communities by creating groups to share best practices, knowledge and resources. 

3) Campaign Opportunities
Through a dedicated campaign website, sellers will receive a step-by-step tutorial on how to participate in campaigns. Shopee will also be creating additional platform campaigns to boost visibility and traffic to their online stores, and increase order volume and sales for sellers. 

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