Women from the Solomon Islands Professional Women’s Network (SIPNET) had the best sign up tutorial a user can get from social media giant LinkedIn – a live video lecture from a LinkedIn executive.

About a dozen women from SIPNET – a professional women’s network formed in December 2016 by members of the Solomon Islands Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SICCI) through an initiative led by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) – took part in the video conference on Tuesday morning at the IFC Office in Honiara with LinkedIn Account Executive, Veronica Auld who is based in Sydney, Australia.

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is helping women from SIPNET to build up their professional brands through the world’s largest working class network. LinkedIn has more than 450 million members and has offices around the world.

According to Ms Auld, some 12,000 Solomon Islanders are on LinkedIn.

The women were taught practical skills to set up impactful LinkedIn profiles and to use this online professional-networking resource to further their career goals. 

“Following Veronica’s presentation, I have learned that LinkedIn is a powerful tool private businesses could benefit from, whether it be through networking, information sharing, marketing and so forth,” said Sharon Mairiua of Pasifiki.

Vanessa Teutao, Advocacy Officer of SICCI said: “I had a profile but following the session, have learnt of better ways to maximize my use of this professional social media tool, especially in leveraging my business networks.”

IFC’s Gender Lead for East Asia Pacific, Amy Luinstra said this was a unique opportunity for the participants to learn from a LinkedIn expert about how to develop critical skills for professional promotion.

“Since SICCI member-businesses have nominated the women and encouraged them and given time off work to participate, it is a signal that these companies are committing to investing in developing their female talent.”

More events and activities are being planned for SIPNET members in the coming months.