First Strategic Trade Control Enforcement (STCE) training in the Portuguese language

06 May 2021

The WCO STCE Programme started adapting its training curriculum for virtual delivery in 2020 with the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. This refined version of the STCE curriculum is then being translated in different languages, in order to allow the biggest number of customs officers to be trained in their own mother tongue.

As a result of this effort, from 27 to 30 April 2021 the STCE team delivered its first training for Portuguese speaking Customs Administrations. The course saw the participation of officers from five Countries (Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Mozambique and East Timor) who had the opportunity to discuss about their national Strategic trade control systems and learn from each other’s experiences. They were also introduced to the newly translated Portuguese version of the STCE Implementation Guide.

The WCO also counted with the support of one accredited STCE Expert Trainer from the Angolan Customs and a Customs Expert on licensing and commodity identification from the Portuguese Customs, who walked participants through the status of their national STC systems implementation and delivered part of the curriculum, from the international legal framework to the different commodity modules to the STCE Risk Management.

On the last day, the STCE team asked participants to provide feedback on the online course, and received very positive comments and useful suggestions. For instance, one participant wrote “All themes touched by the training were valuable. They helped to understand the responsibilities of customs officials in a different way, more focused on aspects related to security.”

Whilst waiting for the moment when in-person trainings are possible and safe again, the WCO Security Programme keeps organizing and delivering online capacity building events for WCO members. For more information on the Programme, please contact WCOSecurityProgramme@wcoomd.org.