Self-assessments conducted by WCA Members and assistance missions carried out in recent years by the WCO and other stakeholders have identified major shortcomings in the area of human resource (HR) management and in initial and continuous training in the majority of Customs administrations.

To address these challenges and jointly develop sustainable solutions in this field, the WCA Region has established an Annual Meeting of WCA HR and Training Managers.

Members of the WCA Region are invited to appoint an expert on HR management and Customs training to participate in this annual event. This representative must match the predefined profile and have the ability to actively contribute to the work on this topic.

The programme of the Annual Meeting of HR and Training Managers is developed jointly by the ROCB, the Vice-Chair, the host country and the WCO Secretariat, in collaboration with the other regional structures.

The meetings are held in English and French (with simultaneous interpretation). They are chaired by the ROCB with the support of the WCA Vice-Chair, the WCO Secretariat and the host country authorities. They precede the meeting of the WCA Capacity Building Contact Points and are usually held in September or October.

The ROCB-WCA reports on this meeting to the Annual Meeting of WCA Contact Points.

The main tasks of the Annual Meeting of WCA HR and Training Managers are:

• Collaborating and exchanging ideas in the field to develop and implement solutions which are appropriate, sustainable and tailored to the needs of WCA Members;
• Presenting their report to the WCA Contact Points for validation.

The following stakeholders are invited to attend these meetings:

• The Vice-Chair and the WCA HR and Training Managers;
• The political authorities of the host country;
• The WCO Secretariat;
• WCA ROCB and RTCs;
• Other guests (RECs, development partners, donors, representatives from academia, etc.).