17 Customs officers trained

Sixteen junior Customs officers were encouraged to be an inspiration to their co-workers after successfully completing an eight-week course on Monday, which is expected to enhance their skills in the workplace.{{more}}

The Junior Officers Promotion course (JOP) occurs biennially and is one of the major training programs developed by the Training Committee to provide Customs officers with their various essential skills.

Grenville John, comptroller of the Customs and Excise Department, thanked several persons, including Samuel Thomas, deputy comptroller and chairman of the Training Committee, as well as facilitators, for successfully planning and executing the training program.

Additionally, he encouraged the participants to be an inspiration to others.

“I hope that you will look back on this course as a turning point in your career at Customs,” John said. “This is a point in your career where you can inspire your seniors, where you can inspire your juniors. I want you to be an inspiration to the entire staff at the Customs.”

After highlighting what is expected of the Customs and its workers, John advised participants to go through their material from the program.

“We run this program every two years and sometimes when I look around, there are persons who would have successfully taken this program and you see them in action, you wonder whether they were exposed to the program,” he said. “Remember that you operate in a dynamic environment. Keep updating your material. Keep abreast with new developments and changes that are taking place in the Customs.”

Like John, Minister of National Mobilization Frederick Stephenson also urged participants to continue their training.

“You have received this particular training, but you can’t just stop there. You have to go on and research,” Stephenson said, while pointing out various things that Customs officers should be aware of.

“You must understand the issues of trafficking in persons and money laundering. Those are recurring decimals. They will have to always be in your heads.”

Stephenson also cautioned participants, as he pointed out that because the Customs is one of the main revenue earners for the Government, what they do can have significant impact on everything else in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Furthermore, he warned the officers about persons who will befriend them for their own gain.

“Continue to be professional in your everyday job activities,” Stephenson said.

The junior officers who successfully completed the course include Maxwell Burke, Monifa Charles, Timesha DeFreitas, Jerome DeShong, Sheldeen Edwards, Kenville Glasgow, Shamlan Hackshaw, Ishma Jacobs, Kayreen Payne, Andrez Prescod, Karlon Roberts, Rafique Roberts, Farisha Robinson, Rosbert Samuel, LaKeitha Sutherland and Terence Williams. (BK)