The Samoa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) hosted a breakfast and certificate
ceremony for participants to celebrate the completion of the Samoa Chamber’s first online training
course at the Taumeasina Island Resort on Friday 5th November 2021.
15 local private sector participants committed to improving their businesses’ efficiency through taking
part in the Chamber’s first online course on “Understanding Productivity”. This course aimed to
deepen participants technical understanding of multi-factor productivity and the different types of
productivity measures within the context of COVID19.
As part of SCCI’s ongoing efforts to provide businesses with capacity building opportunities to
strengthen their business plans and improve their overall growth, this course was the first of many
that the Chamber hopes to rollout in the coming year. Thanks to the support of our donors, the
International Labour Organization (ILO), SCCI was able to offer these online courses to business
owners completely free of cost and provide Chamber members and the local business community
access to top industry leaders and world-class experts from around the world.
The ITCILO “Understanding Productivity” course was also a collaborative learning experience for our
local participants as it incorporated a regional learning approach as our local participants were joined
by private sector representatives from Fiji and members of the Fiji Commerce and Employers
Federation during the live online sessions. The course content was delivered by Professor Jared
Bissinger (New York USA) and Mr. Jorge Ramirez (Turin, Italy).
The final live online session featured guest speakers from the Samoa Human Resources Institute (SHRI)
including Faumuina Ivan Afamasaga of Ah Liki Investment Group and Luana Jamieson of the
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).
This course was brought together by the International Training Centre of the International Labour
Organization (ITC-ILO) in collaboration with ACT/EMP. By delivering the course through the Pacific
eCampus for National Private Sector Organizations, the aim was to leave SCCI members and other
Pacific Chamber counterparts, with fully developed course content for future customization,
adaptation and use in services – online, offline or blended. The Samoa Chamber of Commerce plans
to rollout more online trainings for its members in the near future. CEO for the Samoa Chamber of
Commerce Lemauga Hobart Vaai says “ as the pandemic continues, we as the private sector continues
to adapt and look for opportunities for our members to be equipped with short courses that are
relevant to the current environment and we are fortunate with Zoom we are able to bring in excellent
skilled presenters from overseas to upskill our businesses, we are looking for more opportunities for
our business community”.
This course would not have been possible without the support of Pacific Island Private Sector
Organization (PIPSO) and ITC-ILO. We also extend our gratitude to Mr. Wade Bromley, Senior Specialist

Employers South Asia and Pacific, Nonu Lemauga Saleimoa Vaai, President of Samoa Human
Resources Institute, and our two guest speakers Faumuina Ivan Afamasaga and Luana Jamieson.
Lastly, we wish to acknowledge Laufiso Tomasi Peni, the ILO National Coordinator for Samoa for his
continued support of our private sector initiatives.