Under the auspices of the WCO-WACAM Project funded by Sweden, a competency-based training of trainers (ToT) workshop was held from 18 to 25 April 2018 in Dakar, Senegal, for 23 leading and accredited experts from the Customs administrations of the ECOWAS region.

The purpose of this state-of-the-art workshop was to establish a pool of specialists capable of guiding the ongoing process to develop competencies in their respective Customs administrations in the ECOWAS region.

This valuable workshop provided an opportunity for participants to address such areas as the competency-based training principles, the training cycle – focusing on the analysis of competency needs and the development of training material – adult learning and organizational performance of training sessions for developing competencies. The workshop also provided an unprecedented opportunity for participants to discover and develop their talents as trainers and facilitators, and to refine their training packages in the light of the competency-based requirements.

An initial draft of the basic regional training modules was developed at the workshop, a final version of which is due to be produced in May 2018. However, at the request of all participants, a follow-up consolidation workshop is scheduled for July, when the pilot training programme will be launched in two selected countries.

The aim of this measure, initiated as part of the WACAM Project, is to close the basic, in-service training gap in the region’s administrations. Pursuing an activity of this nature will, over time, make it possible to enhance the organizational capacity of administrations to perform their functions of regulating the flow of goods and facilitating intraregional and interregional trade.

For more information about this activity or the WACAM Project, please contact the WCO-Sweden Programme Director, Richard Chopra (Richard.Chopra@wcoomd.org).