Leadership training for Executive Council builds momentum in Vanuatu

PORT VILA, VANUATU (ILO News) – Effective board governance is essential for guiding employer and business membership organizations (EBMO) towards their strategic objectives. A successful EBMO is directed by a group of people who know what they are doing, are passionate about their cause, and are willing to continue to better themselves and their organization. 

Board members play a pivotal role in upholding governance standards, ensuring transparency, accountability, and ethical behaviour across all levels of the organization. Not only this, but effective governance also requires board members to look beyond compliance to ensure long-term value creation and organizational longevity. 

With support from the ILO’s Bureau for Employers Activities, newly elected and returning Executive Council members of the Vanuatu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) participated in 4-days of tailored training delivered by an international expert in the field of leadership development and organizational change. The training follows earlier collaboration between the ILO and VCCI to design new business processes for onboarding of new council members, including the development of a tailored version of the ILO’s Onboarding Handbook.

“The leadership training was extremely insightful. We finished the course closer as a group and feeling more empowered to play our role in the executive council. I hope this will become a standard part of our onboarding process for all new council members and would recommend it to all boards of EBMO” 

reported Mr Antoine Boudier, President and returning member of the executive council.

The training program consisted of 4 half day sessions conducted in person, with both pre-work and pre-reading set. The course began with a grounding in the changing business of representing business before taking into account wider reflections on the challenges and opportunities facing leaders today. Council members received support to diagnose their own personal leadership style and to reflect as a group on how understanding and appreciation of different styles should play an essential role used in the Boards decisions on approach and strategy for policy work, membership engagement, and public relations. The course concluded with a deep dive on change management and the role of the board in providing clarity and direction. 

Maximillien Zacharie, new member to the executive council had this to say: “The training really made us all think, about how we operate not only on the Vanuatu Chamber Council, but as leaders in businesses, and our industry sector. We learned how to work better with one another, and how to engage more meaningfully with all of our stakeholders. We also discussed and sought solutions to how we can strengthen our impact as the EBMO in-country, and in the region. Sincere thanks to the ILO for making it possible”.

Given the continuing pace and scale of transformation in the world of business and work, the ILO’s Bureau for Employers Activities is providing ongoing support to develop leadership and management of EBMO globally through initiatives such as support for onboarding processes, newly published tools on Strategic HRM tailored for EBMO and, in collaboration with the ITC-ILO, the annual “Masters training in management of employers and business membership organizations” - the only postgraduate course on the market which provides a curriculum focused on acquiring the technical and strategic competences which are needed to drive forward an EBMO.

Reflections and lessons learned from the leadership training with Vanuatu Chamber have been captured to support the ongoing development of these resources while opportunity to support additional trainings in leadership tailored for EBMO leaders are being explored.