Under the auspices of the WCO/JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) Joint Project, the Second Working Group Activity (sub-regional workshop) of the Master Trainers Programme (MTP) on Customs Valuation (CV) and HS Classification (HS) was held at the WCO Regional Training Center in Suva, Fiji, in a hybrid format, from 25 to 29 April 2022. The Workshop, hosted by Fiji Revenue and Customs Service, gathered the same 20 participants from six (6) Customs administrations in the Pacific Islands. These participants had joined the MTP in its first virtual sub-regional activity from 27 September to 1 October for CV and 18 to 22 October for HS, 2021.

This activity is the second in a series of 5 working group activities, benefitting six (6) Customs administrations in the Pacific Islands, namely Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Timor-Leste, Tonga, and Vanuatu, with the objective to enhance their capacities related to CV/HS.  The Master Trainer Programme is a joint endeavour under the WCO/JICA Joint Project to develop sustainable and self-contained training capacity within the Customs administrations by developing (1) a pool of well-experienced trainers and (2) regionally tailor-made training materials and program to be used by these trainers. 

This second working group activity (WG2) provided the working group members with the opportunity to understand and apply the fundamentals of competency-based training and aimed at equipping them to play their role as competency builders in the area of CV/HS. Using the WCO Train the Trainers material according to the competency approach, the focus was laid on critical areas such as the competency-based training cycle and principles, the adult learning cycle, the development of training material, self-awareness and self-development as a trainer. In addition, experts from the WCO and Japan Customs shared their expertise on technical aspects of CV/HS via their presentations and case studies. 

Working group members actively participated in the series of sessions throughout the week. Both the WCO and the JICA welcomed the positive “can do” attitude, the noteworthy sense of ownership by working group members and their efforts to ensure sustainable capacity development in the Customs administrations of the Pacific Islands. All the efforts and exchanges provided by the working group members seem very promising for the progression of the MTP and the future application of the capacities newly developed within the Pacific islands in the Asia/Pacific region.

For more information, please, contact capacity.building@wcoomd.org.