Junior Customs Officers have been encouraged to apply eight weeks of training to the workplace, as they wrapped up their Junior Customs Office Promotion Course.{{more}} A closing ceremony was held on Friday, July 8, 2011, at the National Insurance Services Training Room.

Addressing the participants, Deputy Comptroller of Customs Operations Brian Alexander stated that the eight weeks of training undergone by the fourteen Junior Customs officers must be transferred into the working environment. Alexander stated that the participants were ‘taken into deep waters’ over the past eight weeks and covered various customs topics and were taught skills, such as effective customer service and communications, among others.

Alexander also congratulated the participants for continuing throughout the course with good spirits and also thanked the facilitators of the course for their participation.

Comptroller of Customs and Excise Grenville John, also delivering remarks, congratulated the participants and the facilitators and stressed the importance of training to the customs department. John added that the Department considers human resources its greatest asset and stated that officers must receive the required training in order to perform well.

Also delivering remarks was Tyrone Burke, Chief Personnel Officer, who commended the Department on showing a high level of teamwork and for providing training for the employees, which according to him, will increase skills at all levels and create better, more productive workers.

Participant of the course Kystella Sayers also told of the fun times experienced by her and her fellow participants during the eight weeks and stated all that the participants learnt from the course. (OS)