CustCompEU

CustCompEU is the foundation which sets out a consensus view of the optimal set of knowledge, skills and behaviours required by customs professionals in the EU. 

It also defines public and private customs roles and offers tools to map and adapt the agreed EU Customs competencies and role descriptions to different customs organisations and structures, both for national administrations and businesses. 

It enables: 

• identifying competency gaps and training needs 
• assessing staff against established standards 
• improving both operational and human resources processes 
• data-driven decisions 
• expanding on sharing best practices and the creation of a thriving EU Customs community 
• significant cost efficiencies 

The framework consists of a variety of capacity-building tools designed specifically for the Customs profession. It lists and describes four groups of competency areas: 

• core values 
• professional competencies 
• operational competencies 
• management competencies 

The meaning and scope of the four categories and each competency are set out in the EU Customs Competency Dictionary for the Public and the EU Customs Competency Dictionary for the Private sector. 

All competencies are further specified with well-defined proficiency levels: 

• Aware 
• Trained 
• Advanced 
• Expert 

Common EU Customs Role Descriptions (each followed by a unique to the role Competency Profile) describe in detail the responsibilities, behaviours and optimal blend of competencies Customs professionals are expected to learn to be considered successful in their roles. 

• Policy 
• Client Management 
• Risk Management (updated 2023) 
• Declaration Processing 
• Control 
• Investigation 
• Enforcement 
• Audit 
• Supportive Functions 
• Cross Functional 

Complementing the CustCompEU toolbox is the EU Customs Training Curricula, which provides a comprehensive analysis of suggested learning topics and outcomes (linked to the designated competency areas) to be achieved by customs-specific training initiatives. It supports improved and more consistent customs operations and organisational performance across Europe. 

Two curricula have been developed: 

• for the public sector (Professional competencies for the public sector, Operational competencies for the public sector and Management competencies for the public sector) 
• for the private sector (Professional competencies for the private sector, Operational competencies for the private sector and Management competencies for the private sector) 

These curricula set out the ‘Learning Topics’ and ‘Learning Outcomes’ for training programmes that are tailored towards customs professionals working in the EU. They support improved and more consistent customs operations and organisational performance across Europe. 

A set of Reference Training Programmes for Academic Customs Education (and 2019 Reference Training Programmes for Academic Customs Education revision document) has been created for training providers as a basis for comparison. This will help build or enhance their academic programme structures and training materials. 

The recently updated CustCompEU Reference Training Programme for Risk Management (2023) provides an example of organising training content tailored to specific roles or departments of Risk Management within National Customs Administrations. It sets excellence standards in customs-specific EU training whilst remaining highly flexible and customisable. Moreover, it can be shared with staff in national administrations, allowing them to take ownership and accountability of their professional development.

Running since 2018, the EU Recognition Process for Customs academic programmes makes it possible to deliver a quality label for accredited academic customs programmes (Bachelor’s, Master’s and modules within those programmes). 

The recognition process provides quality assurance to both the academic institutions and students of equivalent programmes. In this way, it further harmonises and raises customs performance standards throughout the European Customs Union. 

Learn more about EU Recognition of State-of-the-Art Customs Academic Programmes 

• EU Training on Customs and Tax 
• Customs & Tax EU Learning Portal