Synagie, the leading Southeast Asian digital commerce enabler and Nanyang Polytechnic’s Singapore Institute of Retail Studies (NYP-SIRS) have today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to co-develop and roll out a digital commerce talent training and placement programme to boost European-focused eCommerce career opportunities for Singapore-based workers.

Europe’s eCommerce market, with its 65million online shoppers, is worth S$600 billion, five times that of Southeast Asia. This presents a great potential for brands and businesses. The programme by Synagie and NYP-SIRS aims to train and offer career opportunities to Singaporeans in five key areas of digital commerce to support Synagie’s expansion into Europe starting in October 2022.

Adopting a glocal enterprise approach, the programme’s curriculum has been carefully curated by eCommerce subject matter experts and customised to develop key skills in channel store development, creative design, cross-border engagement, marketing and customer service against a European market context. Through this partnership, Synagie and NYP-SIRS will collectively incubate 300 talents and 700 merchants, in a phased approach, to prepare them for the European market.

The MoU was signed as part of the ‘Work in the Future - eCommerce Open House’, jointly organised by Synagie and SIRS. The signing was witnessed by the Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth and Trade and Industry, Ms Low Yen Ling. The event was attended by graduands of SIRS programmes, Nanyang Polytechnic alumni and graduates, along with mid-career job seekers interested in transitioning into the digital commerce industry.

Ms Olive Tai, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Synagie, said, “Synagie is proud to be propelling the tech and talent of the Singapore eCommerce industry to Europe. With our glocal enterprise approach, Synagie’s entry into the market will elevate the online consumer experience and the standards of digital commerce enablement services in Europe. Synagie, known in Southeast Asia as the enabler of choice for Beauty and Fashion, will be the partner of choice for the market with beauty and fashion categories being synonymous with the region. This training and placement program will allow Synagie to bring Singapore businesses and Singaporeans along on this exciting journey, whilst operating and working strategically out of Singapore.”

Ms Megan Ong, Director, Nanyang Polytechnic’s Singapore of Institute of Retail Studies, said, “The eCommerce industry has been growing at an unprecedented speed. With Singapore being the Southeast Asian hub for cross-border eCommerce, our enterprises are constantly exploring opportunities for growth, both within and outside the region. We are pleased to support Synagie in their expansion into the European market through our training and talent programmes to equip both employees and retailers with the relevant eCommerce skills for them to ride the wave and leverage exciting opportunities in Europe through this collaboration.”

This partnership with SIRS follows the launch of Synagie Commerce Academy (SCA) earlier this year which saw the co-development of modules with SMU Academy. The SCA programme aims to address the digital commerce talent gap here in Singapore with the goal of upskilling over 3,000 eCommerce and tech professionals by 2025.