Under the background of transition to virtual and/or hybrid training model, the ROCB A/P in cooperation with the WCO Secretariat organized a regional online workshop on Training Management from 24 to 26 May 2022, in order to respond to the joint decision made by the 19th Asia Pacific Regional Training Center (RTC) Heads Meeting in October 2021. Around 70 Delegates from about 20 Member administrations took part in this workshop facilitated by Dr. Tong Hua, WCO Accredited Customs Expert (ACE) on Human Resource Management and Development (HRMD), as a resource person.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Norikazu Kuramoto, Head of ROCB A/P, stressed the importance of adopting new competencies and strategies in order to provide effective training for Customs administrations through sharing experiences from Members with a view to properly addressing the ever-growing training needs in the context of COVID-19 and beyond.

During the course of the workshop, the latest WCO instruments and tools HRMD were introduced, including the Guide to Implementing Competency-Based HRM in a Customs Environment, WCO Guide to Managing Customs’ Human Capital through Crises and Beyond, and the WCO Guide for a successful transition to live virtual training as the prominent guidance by the resource person.  The participants discussed heated topics on strategic principles of HR training, competency-based training framework, implementation of competency-based training strategy, and transition to virtual and/or hybrid training under and after COVID-19.  Based on informative presentations from Members and RTCs, and through break-out sessions facilitated by the resource persons, the participants held in-depth discussions to identify key training challenges in the region, the possible solutions, and the future trends. They re-affirmed their commitment to continue the effective dialogue and share best practices to further optimize their respective HRMD and training management.

Participants agreed to the two proposals to update the Regional Good Practice Report on training management and to organize the online workshop on Training Management periodically to form a sustainable dialogue mechanism to improve the competencies of A/P Members.

For more information on this activity and the WCO's people development programme, please, contact capacity.building@wcoomd.org.