Aspiring women directors will meet next week at the Development Bank of Samoa conference room on Monday for a three-day training programme to prepare them for the finer points of business management. 

The training programme is being hosted by the Women In Leadership Samoa (W.I.L.S.) programme in partnership with the Samoa Institute of Directors.

The United Nations Development Programme (U.N.D.P.) announced the training in an invite distributed to the media on Friday, 21 May. The W.I.L.S. is also a programme of the U.N.D.P.

“The Women in Leadership in Samoa (W.I.L.S.) Project in collaboration with the Samoa Institute of Directors will be conducting its programme for aspiring women directors and gender advocates (male) on the Monday 24th, Wednesday the 26th and Friday the 28th May 2021,” the U.N.D.P. statement reads.

Monday’s programme for The Director’s Course starts at 8.45 am with registration followed by a welcome and prayer before the training session.

It will cover a wide range of areas from the role of directors to financial operations as well as the legal roles and responsibilities of directors.

The training facilities include Manu’a Dr. Cam Wendt, who will cover the role and responsibilities of directors while Rev. Siaosi Salesulu will cover the strategic role of directors on the first day.

On the second day on Wednesday, the session devoted to financial operations and company analytics with Tina Ula Saili covering understanding financial reports; analysis of key performance ratios and financial data; company analytics and case study and reporting.

On the third and final day on Friday, the trainers will cover the legal roles and responsibilities and the relation between chief executive officers and boards.

Attorney Tufuga Fagaloa Tufuga will also cover two sessions: the Companies Act and legal compliance, and fiduciary responsibility and conflicts of interest. Matautia Rula Levi will cover the board and C.E.O. relationship.

Participants who successfully complete the training will receive certificates. W.I.L.S. is funded by the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (D.F.A.T.).

It is a U.N.D.P.-U. Women joint project implemented in partnership with the Government of Samoa, under the overall leadership of the W.I.L.S. Steering Committee. 

The Steering Committee comprises representatives of the Samoa Government’s (Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development (M.W.C.S.D.), Ministry of Finance, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (M.F.A.T.), community (S.U.N.G.O.), and UN agencies (U.N.D.P. and U.N. Women).

W.I.L.S. seeks to build and reinforce progress already made on gender equality and women’s leadership in Samoa. 

It aims to strengthen women’s leadership targeting women in the community and younger (emerging) women leaders. W.I.L.S. trained potential candidates who ran in the 2021 elections.