We are pleased to announce that the 1st Pilot Session of the Virtual Customs Orientation Academy (VCOA) has begun, from August 4, 2014 to October 24, 2014.
This groundbreaking initiative complements the WCO learning and development opportunities offered to the Customs officers worldwide. The VCOA 4 core modules, composed of videos, live discussions, multimedia courses, aim at providing new Customs inductees with:
- an understanding of the role of the WCO and its impact on the Customs community including their own Customs administration,
- knowledge on how to interpret and apply Customs international conventions and tools,
- an understanding Customs modernization and capacity building concepts,
- the ability to identify and apply revenue collection principles,
- an understanding and application skills on enforcement principles, and
- the capacity of identifying basic Customs procedures.
This 1st Pilot Session has brought great anticipation as 33 young colleagues from 5 different regions have successfully passed the pre-selection, out of more than 100 eligible applicants, and have proactively embarked on their learning journey since Monday 04th August. The participants successfully passing all the assignments, exercises, questionnaires, case studies, field studies, will receive a certificate.
They will be accompanied by the Capacity Building Directorate and Virtual Tutors from Brazil, Canada, Korea, Swaziland, and Turkey. The Virtual Academy brings regional and global Customs knowledge to the future Customs generation and offers a unique opportunity for new recruits to build worldwide professional networks amongst the Customs Community.