WCO releases new Customs tools to advance gender equality and diversity
Gender equality and diversity has been part of the WCO capacity building agenda since 2013. In continuing its efforts to promote the advancement of gender equality and diversity in Customs, the WCO launched a number of new tools and initiatives in the past year.
E-learning module: “Advancing Gender Equality in Customs”
A new e-learning module on “Advancing gender equality in Customs” has been published on the WCO
The Career Development Programme (CDP) celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2019. Funded by Japan Customs, it offers on-the-job training to mid-managerial level Customs officers during a 10 month stint at the WCO Secretariat under the supervision of experts in different areas. So far, 95 off... The CDP stands out among WCO capacity building initiatives. Indeed, the type of support provided by the Secretariat can be divided into two, with some activities focusing on human resource and organizational development, and others focusing on the implementation of WCO instruments, tools and stan...
Career Development Programme marks its 10th year
Some 1,000 Customs officers have already benefited from the WCO Fellowship Programme
Since its launch in 1985, the WCO Fellowship Programme has run a total series of 80 sessions, enabling 950 participants from 143 Customs administrations in developing countries to acquire sound knowledge on internationally recognized Customs techniques and practices, and to bolster their manag...
The Programme’s administrators have, over the years, sought to improve it by proposing a format that is more in tune with the concerns and needs of the target administrations. They have, in particular, focused on:
- the development of leadership capacities with a view to endowing Fel...
SARS’ experience regarding the impact of digitalization on human resources
Context for change
Driven by the need to ensure it would be able to address the increased demands of the global trading landscape, with regard to both financial and social security, accession to international instruments ...
A new CLiKC! platform
The WCO Secretariat is about to launch a new version of the CLiKC! learning platform, in order to provide users with a comprehensive picture of the Organization’s training material and opportunities available to its Members.
This initiative follows the endorsement by the WCO Capacity Bui...
To support this shift in the way training is delivered, the new CLiKC! platform will enable its users to:
- view all the training opportunities offered by the WCO Secretariat, such as the “course catalogue,” which includes e-learning courses, global and regional workshops, and othe...
Untapping the potential of human resource management in Customs
Customs administrations, due to the nature of their missions and to the fact that they are operating in an environment marked by complex interactions, have to constantly engage in modernization efforts. In other words, they need to regularly update and upgrade their operating models and working m...
Findings from WCO People Development Diagnostics
The WCO has been promoting a vision of Customs as a coherent professional body with unique operating models, and which consists of individuals who share specific and gradua...
Enhancing performance lies in helping employees to be aware of who they are and what drives them
How can you make an impact as a leader on the performance of your organization, especially in a time of crisis? Part of the answer lies in ensuring that your human resource (HR) managers are taken seriously and have the tools at their disposal to make the best ...
Why are some people more successful than others
At Innermetrix UK Ltd, we conducted a seven-year study on what really drives individual performance and success. We looked at 75 PhDs and 900 consultants who are specialists in helping peopl...
Customs laboratories: available resources, assistance and networking possibilities
While many traded goods can be correctly identified and classified by simple visual inspection or documentation review, some require chemical or scientific testing to ascertain their identity and enable their correct classification. Products as diverse as acetaminophen (a pharmaceutical product),...
Ensuring Staff Wellbeing and Psychological Health: Jamaica shares its experience
The Jamaica Customs Agency considers its human capital to be its most valued resource and, as such, its staff has a place of pride within the Administration. In this article, the Human Resource Management and Development (HRMD) Division introduces some of the progr...
Psychological health
The importance of psychological health and its impact on organizational success cannot be overstated. With this in mind, the Agency has established an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) through which employees and t...
Physical wellbeing
Under its Physical Wellbeing Programme, the Agency offers its staff the opportunity to participate in physical activities, including the Agency’s own initiative, called #Customsmoves, -an aerobics and strength traini...
True leadership through greater awareness
Since 2015, Directors General of Customs and their executive teams have been able to participate in a ‘Top Executive Retreat,’ as a means of further strengthening their capacity in implementing change and in achieving organizational results. This article ex...
Customs laboratories, chemistry and excise: an historical introduction
At the end of July 1882, a strange package arrived at the Madrid Customs laboratory which was under the direction of Gabriel de la Puerta-Ródenas, a Spanish chemist who lived from 1839-1908. Destined for Spain’s Prime Minister, the Spanish authorities, fearing for the Prime Minister’s life, ...
Qatar Customs invests in staff development
Qatar Customs is offering its staff new opportunities to further their education and ensure they are well equipped to take on complex projects or managerial positions. This article introduces these new educational programmes and reveals some of the lessons lear...
In order to offer its employees the opportunity to acquire such knowledge and skills, Qatar Customs established a partnership with the Community College of Qatar (CCQ) and the Centre for Customs and Excise Studies (CCES) a...
Dominican Republic opens top-notch Customs laboratory
On 18 February 2015, the General Directorate of Customs (DGA) of the Dominican Republic officially opened a modern scientific laboratory occupying a site measuring 1,217 square metres in the city of Santo Domingo. The facility has an uninterruptible power supply (UPS), an emergency generator, kit...
Managing organizational performance in a crisis period
This article is based on the presentation by the authors at the WCO webinar “Managing HR through a crisis and beyond”. It looks at how to maintain effective performance in a severely disruptive crisis situation, and explores practical strategies for combini...
According to an article published by the management consulting firm Gallup [2]: “Leaders don’t need to predict the future. What followers need most are trust, compassion, stability and hope.”
The COVID-19 pandemic is dramatically increasi...
Gender equality through equal pay: Iceland Customs takes the lead
Gender equality is now a dominant theme throughout the world, and is being pursued in various ways by international organizations, governments and industry alike. The Customs world is no different as it tackles the issue, bolstered by ‘gender mainstreaming’ bei...
Is it possible to use a private laboratory as a Customs laboratory?
In one word: Yes! At least, that is the experience of the Danish Customs and Tax Administration (SKAT). There are, of course, issues to be considered and addressed before taking the decision to use a private laboratory as a Customs laboratory, but once the issues have been addressed, it is entire...
An overview of Philippines Customs’ journey towards transformation
When I was appointed to the top position in the Philippines Bureau of Customs (BOC) in October 2018, I was confronted with challenges aplenty, from administrative to operational concerns and systemic deficiencies that made the Bureau vulnerable to corrupt practices. For more than two years now, ...
We have also put a great deal of work into the completion of the database and the pool of BOC trainers, speakers and experts, and into carrying out 180 activities as part of our learning and development programmes in 2020, in which a total of 5,570 employees participated.
The COVID-19 pand...
A new Customs Operations Centre also opened in December 2020. Designed to house the different intelligence, enforcement, risk management and scanning systems of the Bureau, the Centre’s officers are to help enhance the operations of the 17 Collection Districts located across the country, and ai...
Border workforce well-being: Canada takes care of its employees
The health and wellness of our workforce is critical to the success of modern border management organizations. While the operating environments differ between each of our countries – for example, some of us work in an armed environment, or within different legal frameworks – we all share a co...
Dubai Customs uses artificial intelligence to boost productivity
Improving workplace productivity and helping people get their jobs done efficiently is critical for Customs administrations that have to deal with an increase in the number of cross-border movements, be it cargo or people.
With a forecasted growth in trade and travel being driven by EXPO 2...
The system acts like a tiny coach sitting on a manager’s shoulder throughout the day. And every now and then, the coach whispers something like, “this person did something great recently,” or “this process could be improved.”
The Productivity Engine produces a productivity score ...
Ensuring gender equality and diversity: Indonesia’s experience
In 2000, the President of Indonesia issued a decree requesting all government agencies to integrate the concerns and experiences of women as well as of men into the planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluation of policies and activities. This strategy, known a...
Gender Equality and Diversity Taskforce
In 2006, the Ministry of Finance decided to create a GED Taskforce to ensure effective implementation of gender mainstreaming. The Taskforce is made up of high-level representatives...
Australian Border Force Detector Dog Program
The Australian Border Force (ABF) Detector Dog Program (DDP) is a national program divided into two sub-sections:
- Operations – responsible for seven regional operational units in Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.
- Breeding and training ...
The main limitations of the breeding program are related to resources and infrastructure. These include:
- Staffing and breeding stock numbers.
- Competencies of staff to deal with complex breeding activity.
- Having enough whelping and nursery areas to safely support act...
Homecoming: after 15 years, CBP returns to the World Trade Center
As far back as Colleen Piccone can remember, the World Trade Center was always a part of her life. Growing up on Staten Island in the early 1970s, she watched from across the New York Harbour as the Twin Towers were being built. After graduating from Brooklyn Law School, she started working at 6 ...
Dubai Customs: Journey towards a ‘Customs of the future’
Just a few years ago, the Dubai government set a very aggressive vision to compete with the major cities of the world, and to stand out as the leading trade hub in the Middle East. This left Dubai Customs with no choice but to evolve and transform.
The characteristics of the environment wh...
Spotlight on the Mexican Tax Administration Service’s internal communication activities
The Mexican Tax Administration Service (Servicio de Administración Tributaria, or SAT) has acknowledged the value of its human capital, and has been putting great effort into motivating its staff and making sure that they are proud to belong to the institution. In...
Throughout the year, we conceive, on average, 25 strategies aimed at influencing the behaviour and work ethic of more than 33,000 SAT employees, located in over 180 offices/representations across the country, including 55 tax payer “attention offices” and 49 Customs offices. We have also esta...
Competency-based approach to HR management: the experience of Abu Dhabi Customs
The General Administration of Abu Dhabi Customs (hereinafter referred to as “Abu Dhabi Customs”) has recently undergone a major organizational change in order to keep pace with technological developments and to meet the digital transformation objectives set by the Abu Dhabi Government. One of...
Identification of competencies
A competency consists of several components, including motives, attitudes, values, skills, talent, intelligence, abilities, knowledge, know-how, experience, social roles and self-image. Some...
Working together: Australia and Korea fostering collaboration through officer placement
Cooperation between Customs agencies is crucial in order to address some of the collective risks and challenges faced at the border. The Australian Border Force regularly collaborates with foreign Customs and enforcement authorities in various ways, for example...
As a result of Mr. Jeong’s assignment to Australia, the ABF and the KCS now have a greater understanding of each other’s plans in applying emerging technologies to Customs and border processes that will open new avenues for collaboration. By harnessing technology and enabling data sharing, it...
An enriching and remarkable journey on the “SMIPRP train” in Japan
High rise buildings with beautiful lighting, fascinating road layouts and curves cutting deftly and sometimes complicatedly across each other, signalled my arrival in Japan. Almost every wall and sign post from the airport to the city was dotted with an intriguing mix of Katakana, Hiragana and Ka...
Gambia Revenue Authority modernizes its human resource management approach
In cooperation with the WCO, the Gambia Revenue Authority has embarked on a journey to modernize its human resource management capacity, which will enable it to become one of the country’s best employers, as well as a better service delivery institution.
Overview of German Customs’ fight against illicit financial flows
Monitoring and combating illicit financial flows (IFFs) represent a substantial challenge to all countries. This is particularly true for Germany with its growing significance as a financial centre. This article introduces the German Customs organizational structur...
Organizational structure
Germany’s authorities and, in particular, the German Customs administration, are taking up the challenge: the fight against IFFs that make use of the facilities provided by financial regulations...
Dubai Customs introduces a Virtual Reality Customs training programme
As Virtual Reality (VR) solutions are creating new ways to learn and become more embedded in the private and public sectors, Dubai Customs recently deployed a one-of-a-kind VR training programme to train their inspectors for fieldwork. The training is designed to improve inspectors’ efficiency ...
This CBP beagle isn’t your typical canine
Imagine being less than two feet tall and having to navigate the luggage carousel at one of the busiest airports in America. This could be a daunting and intimidating task, but every day a non-intimidating canine battles through the large crowds sniffing backpacks and luggage looking for food.
When people think of law enforcement canines, beagles are probably one of the last breeds someone would envision. Anderson believes the programme to start using beagles began in the 80s. “We wanted to create public awareness of the agricultural programme. Beagles are cute and cuddly and not int...
Investing in leadership should be an unwavering priority for all Customs administrations
Leadership development programmes are crucial to the lasting success of every organization. To support its Members in this field, the WCO has developed a Leadership and Management Development Programme. In this article, the Commissioner of Uganda Customs shares his...
Actioning knowledge gained back home
When I returned to Uganda, I recall the first action I took was to rally my team in order to go through the “visioning” process that I had been introduced to. Together, we began to...
Educating the next generation of Customs professionals
Are there ways to improve compliance, safety, security, operational efficiency and information quality in international trade? Reduce the administrative burden for business and government? Foster the uniform application of Customs legislation? Encourage mutual unde...
Rethinking training: a visit to the Netherlands Customs National Training Centre
Nowadays, most Customs administrations have a school which teaches Customs staff. Some have a training centre devoted to the continuous practical training of officers throughout their careers. And it is one of these centres and its crucial role that is examined in this article, the purpose of whi...
Training in the time of COVID-19: Ukraine’s experience
Ukraine declared itself an independent country on 24 August 1991 and, shortly afterwards, established its own Customs Service. As it is the case for any new organization, the challenge was to find highly qualified specialists and focus was consequently placed on the training of newly recruited of...
The Department also selects and trains dogs and dog handler teams, manages the logistics and infrastructure of the Dog Training Centre (kennels, vehicles and training tools used), ensures participation by Ukrainian dog handler teams in special events, and cooperates with other agenc...
Highlights from the WCO Communication Strategies Conference
If the conferences organized by the WCO Secretariat usually address technical matters related to Customs and trade, such as information technology, authorized economic operators (AEOs), the Harmonized System, or security, one event was an exception last year: the Communication Strategies Conferen...
Staff need to be informed and their voice heard
Internal communication can be defined as the way an organization interacts with its staff and the way they interact with it. Its purpose is to create a shared understanding ...
How Peru boosted its modernization process during the crisis
In Peru, the COVID-19 pandemic led to a contraction of the volume of exports and imports, which has negatively impacted tax revenues. However, the crisis did not stop the supply of goods deemed critical to deal with the pandemic, nor did it stop the imports and exports vital to supporting the cou...
Adjusting to a new reality
The measures aimed at supporting the continuity of foreign trade operations during the pandemic included:
- the suspension of deadlin...