Jamaica Customs collaborates with TPDCo to train 700 employees

The Jamaica Customs Department, has, since September, embarked on a month-long customer-service training course for more than 700 of its frontline staff across the island.

This is part of the department's efforts to improve trade facilitation. The sessions are being administered by representatives from the Tourism Development Product Company (TPDCo) from the Ministry of Tourism. Approximately 300 employees in Kingston have already attended the two-day training sessions. An additional three sessions were conducted in Montego Bay last week.

At the launch session on September 21, Commissioner of Customs, Danville Walker, encouraged the first 62 trainees to be knowledgeable, pleasant, responsive, helpful, engaging and in the moment. He emphasised that staff be solution oriented and try to find quick answers to issues customers have on a daily basis. He urged all employees to embrace the emerging culture of quality service delivery in customs operations. He also affirmed that the training was being conducted at the right time when the department is transitioning to an executive agency. An advocate of good public image, he stated that each person has the opportunity and responsibility to give a good impression of the department.

Maureen Aarons, team leader of the training sessions, commended the Customs Department for initiating such a well-thought-out business move to have a wide cross section of the staff population benefit from this interactive training session.

"The participants are engaged and sparked healthy discussions on the development of customer service guidelines that they have all committed to adopting when they get back to their various stations," Aarons said.

Natalee Cameron, customer-service manager at Jamaica Customs, underscored the importance of the training sessions.

"Efficient systems and poor service inhibits the success of any organisation. Therefore, the service culture that we are initiating at Jamaica Customs, along with the improvement of our systems, will be the driving force in meeting our revenue targets," She said.

The Customs Department, in partnership with the Cabinet Office Public Sector Modernisation Division, hopes to have all staff trained to deliver quality customer service by April 1, 2012, when the department transitions to an executive agency.

During the current transition year, the department seeks to continuously improve the systems and capabilities of the organisation which is a major step in becoming a fully integrated agency with technologically advanced operations and internationally accepted programmes, thus encouraging voluntary compliance, trade facilitation and improved revenue collection.