Educators scrambling amid e-commerce boom

Liu Mengyuan opened up about her dream career in cross-border e-commerce after studying at Shanghai Zhenhua Foreign Trade Professional School for two years.

"I gained professional knowledge in the industry, covering online product description, international freight charge calculation, foreign markets and customers. It's challenging yet fascinating," she said, adding that the idea of studying e-commerce platforms through which she can learn how to improve customer service in various markets attracted her most.

The 16-year-old is one of the first crop of students to specialize in cross-border e-commerce at the school after it jointly launched the pilot major with Shanghai Sipo Polytechnic in 2017. Fifty-six students have enrolled in the major.

According to Dong Yonghua, principal of the trade school, the major is designed to help students develop skills required by the cross-border e-commerce industry.

Schools also cooperate with local e-commerce and custom brokerage companies to offer students opportunities to practice.

"The demand for professionals in cross-border e-commerce is soaring as the industry rapidly grows in the country with the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative and free trade zones," Dong said. "Students in other majors like international trade or business English may lack practical skills in cross-border e-commerce."

In June, cross-border e-commerce was officially listed as one of the 46 new majors at secondary professional schools.

"It's a promising field, and I'm glad I made a good choice for my career," Liu Mengyuan said.

In China, overall cross-border e-commerce transactions reached 9 trillion yuan ($1.3 trillion) in 2018, compared with 3.15 trillion yuan in 2013, according to a report by 100 EC, an e-commerce media and research center.

The emerging market is also reflected by Chinese e-commerce companies' strategic moves. E-commerce giant Alibaba, for example, announced at the first China International Import Expo - which was held in Shanghai in November - that it aims to achieve 1.43 trillion yuan in imports in five years. The plan shows great potential in demand for cross-border e-commerce talent in the future.

"Under such circumstances, majors at vocational schools should be set up in an effective way so that they can bridge school and the market," said Yao Dawei, principal of Shanghai Sipo Polytechnic.