It is well recognized that globalisation, market liberalisation, the convergence of information and communications technology, and the ever increasing demand for new and better quality services have impacted heavily on the development of national economies and their abilities to sustain economic competitive advantage.

This phenomenon has placed a greater demand on the role and performance of Customs and Public Service in general. The performance of Customs is now no longer incidental to, but critical in ensuring that government is best placed to achieve its purpose, goals and objectives.

Customs cannot continue to operate in the same archaic way and therefore in order for the Department to function effectively in a highly professional and competitive environment, senior managers must be equipped to manage the department.

The Caribbean Customs Law Enforcement Council (CCLEC) which is an umbrella organisation for Customs in the region has recently developed an on-line Customs management training programme in conjunction with the Canberra University of Australia to facilitate the continuous development of leadership and management competencies within Customs Administrations in CCLEC member countries.

The program will provide Customs managers with the knowledge and skills needed for effective leadership and effective change management, in order to lead and improve organizational change efforts.

An essential part of this training is to advance capacity in the region by training Customs experts within the region who will become lectures for the face to face component of the program. To this end the University of the West Indies Open Campus has been working in partnership with CCLEC to plan and deliver a train-the-trainer training for the regional experts. This training will take place at the Cave Hill campus in Barbados from August 10-14, 2009. Thirteen regional Customs experts will attend the course which is facilitated by Dr Coreen Leacock of the School of Education, Cave Hill campus.