English for customs officers

TEXT 9.4. WORKING FOR CUSTOMS

The Customs officer enforces the laws and regulations of his respective country regarding incoming goods, personal effects and animals, as well as imports and exports. Customs officers can be located on the physical border between countries or in transportation hubs like ports, airports and railroad stations.

Professional Customs officers should be properly educated. As a rule a comprehensive training involves a thorough knowledge of legislation relevant to Customs work, knowledge of border protection methods, search and investigation techniques, understanding of Customs procedures and policies.

Job profiles of a Customs officer

You are going to read the Job profiles of a Customs officer provided by The National Careers Service1 in the UK and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection2.

HM Revenue & Customs

Customs officers prevent banned items from entering or leaving the country, and collect a range of taxes and duties.

1https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk

2http://www.cbp.gov

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Work activities

Customs officers, also known as detection officers, are employed by HM Revenue & Customs and work in UK ports and airports collecting Customs duties and preventing smuggling and illegal trade.

Entry requirements

You would normally join as an administrative assistant or assistant officer and earn promotion to customs officer or detection officer. Recruitment directly to

officer grade sometimes takes place.

To join at officer grade you will probably need five GCSEs (A-C) including English and maths, plus two A levels or equivalent qualifications. You will normally need two GCSEs (A-C) to join HMRC as an administrative assistant, and five GCSEs (A-C) including maths and English for assistant officer jobs.

If you do not have these qualifications, you could take a test to prove your skills and abilities in areas like teamwork and communication. You must also meet the civil service nationality requirement. All jobs are open to British nationals and many are also open to Commonwealth citizens or European Union nationals.

Typical responsibilities:

identifying people and questioning people who have been found with illegal items or goods over the allowance;

searching baggage and individuals for smuggled items;

making arrests of people suspected of smuggling;

seizing smuggled goods;

checking documentation relating to imported goods;

undertaking physical examinations of freight;

detecting and prosecuting drug smugglers;

collecting and supplying trade statistics;

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writing reports and witness statements;

checking Customs documents;

fighting the increasing problem of alcohol and tobacco smuggling;

helping to combat the worldwide illegal trade in endangered species of animals and birds;

dealing with revenue due on imported goods;

taking on specialist roles such as dog handling or undercover and surveillance work.

When necessary a Customs officer goes to court as a witness and would work closely with other agencies, like the police and the Home Office.

Working hours and conditions

As a full-time customs officer you would work 36 hours a week over five days. In a border protection role you would work shifts to cover 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Job sharing or part-time work may be available.

Skills, abilities, interests and qualities

To become a Customs officer you will need to have:

good judgement;

good listening and questioning skills;

a tactful but firm manner;

honesty and fairness in applying rules;

ability to collate and analyse often complex information;

ability to disseminate detailed information in a clear and concise manner;

confident decision-making ability;

ability to work alone and also as part of a team;

ability to present information in a clear and logical way;

ability to work accurately, pay close attention to detail and notice inconsistencies;

self-motivation;

tactful and polite with excellent communication and interpersonal skills;

good numeracy skills, with the ability to interpret accounts and make calculations.

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trade mission by appraising and classifying imported merchandise. These employees serve in positions such as Import Specialist, auditor, international trade specialist and analyst.

Unprecedented growth in world trade, new trade agreements, and increased trade complexity make the trade compliance process activities of U.S. Customs and Border Protection more important than ever. We interact with both importers and exporters and are responsible for decisions regarding a staggering variety of merchandise, manufactured goods, and commodities.

Being an Import Specialist, you will be responsible for classifying and appraising a portion of the billions of dollars' worth of commercially imported merchandise that enters the U.S. every year. You will determine which products may legally enter the country by enforcing laws protecting public health and safety, intellectual property rights, fair trade practices and the like. You may also play a key role in criminal enforcement team investigations of smuggling, commercial fraud, and counterfeiting.

A favorably completed background investigation is required for your placement in a position with Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

A background investigation is conducted to ensure that the candidate is suitable for employment, i.e. reliable, trustworthy, of good conduct and character, and loyal to the United States.

Candidates for law enforcement officer positions at Customs and Border Protection are required to undergo a polygraph exam as part of the background investigation. The results of the polygraph will be used to determine the candidate's suitability for placement in the law enforcement officer position.

Along with having a degree in criminal justice, a candidate aiming to work with U.S. Department of Home Security at a post of Customs officer should also be physically fit and free of any court cases pending in his name. The foremost requirement is that he should be a citizen of the country.

Seven weeks of specialized training will enable you to develop an expert knowledge of import and export trends, commodities, and industries, as well as complex international trade agreements. This position will call on your intellect, discipline, organizational abilities, and analytical skills.

In addition to great Federal benefits, you will have the satisfaction of being an expert in a top international trade career.

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EXERCISES

I. Read the list of professional/personal qualities of a Customs officer and put them into two columns.

confident, ambitious, accountable, stubborn, reliable, self-disciplined, safety-conscious, disorganized, careful, tactful, honest and fair, adaptable, practical, lazy, arrogant, independent, rude, active, businesslike, knowledgeable, emotional, sensible, clever, malicious, biased, reasonable, kind, aggressive, superficial, witty, intuitive, generous, cunning.

III. Make a profile of a Customs officer working for the Belarusian Customs Service.

FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES

I. Answer these questions from the perspective of a graduate student interested in a career in Customs.

1.What does it mean to be a competent Customs officer?

2.What is meant by «professional qualifications» for a job?

3.What working position is the best for you?

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4.Do you want to be an executive?

5.What qualities do you need to be an executive?

6.What do you like more: giving orders or receiving orders?

7.Are you accustomed to red-tape jobs?

8.In what field do you need training most of all?

9.What career opportunities are there for someone who has studied Customs matters?

10.Do all Customs officers do the same kind of work?

11.Why are career prospects in Customs Service said to be very good?

II. Agree or disagree with the following statements. Give your reasons. Discuss your answers with your partner. Supply some additional information.

1.The State Customs Committee should certify the inspectors annually.

2.All Customs officers should know risk-based control procedures.

3.Survival is not so much a matter of discipline and awareness as of tactics and technique.

4.In class, role-plays must be designed around realistic and practical situations that officers may encounter during their routine duties.

5.Offering Customs officers a high quality, up-to-date instruction often means going a step further in their professional competence.

6.Customs officers shouldn't be taught report writing.

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7.Teaching is always a two-way process.

8.«Chalk and Talk»1 session is the only method for a highly skilled, dedicated Customs officer who wants to be trained to a peak of professionalism.

9. «Education is an investment that repays itself with a profit» (A. Smith).

10.Education produces substantial value for the money.

11.«Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their integrity» (G. Patton2).

12.Customs officers in our country are learning not only state-of-the- art drug detection techniques and military-style combat-training but also public relations, folk dancing, icon-painting, graphology and the complex task of creating a human face for Customs.

13.Now any passenger who considers himself unfairly treated by Customs can use a telephone hotline in Minsk and complain to the Committee's officials. They promise no delays in dealing with complaints.

14.All Customs officers at Minsk-2 are capable of telling a souvenir from a work of art.

DO IT FOR FUN

I. TIME MANAGEMENT SKILLS TEST

One of the greatest factors contributing to stress is our inability to manage time. Conversely, good time management skills allow us to organize our lives and be more productive, both at work and at home. The following quiz will help identify trouble spots and guide us toward the goal of becoming successful time managers. A scoring key at the end will indicate how far you need to go. Assign a numerical number to the following questions with l=always; 2=usually; 3=sometimes; 4=never.

1The formal, traditional teaching method that relies on oral instruction and use of the blackboard.

2George Patton (1885–1945) – US Army officer who was an outstanding practitioner of mobile tank warfare in the European and Mediterranean theatre during World War II.

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___ I find that I have enough time for myself to do the things I enjoy doing.

___ I'm aware of deadlines and schedule my work to meet them in time.

___ I write down specific objectives in order to work toward goals.

___ I use a calendar to write down appointments, deadlines, and things to do.

___ I feel in control of time while at work and at home.

___ I plan and schedule my time on a weekly and/or monthly basis.

___ I make a daily to-do list and refer to it several times per day.

___ I set priorities in order of importance and then schedule time around them.

___ I'm able to find time when I need it in case something important comes up.

___ I'm able to say no when I'm pressed for time.

___ I try to delegate responsibility to others in order to make more time for myself.

___ I organize my desk and work area to prevent clutter and confusion.

___ I find it easy to eliminate or reschedule low priority items.

___ I try to do things in a way that cuts down on duplicated effort.

___ I find that doing everything myself is very inefficient.

___ I try to shift priorities as soon as they change.

___ I find it easy to identify sources of time problems.

___ I find it easy to eliminate or reshuffle unnecessary paperwork.

___ My meetings and activities are well organized and efficient.

___ I know what I'm capable of and try not to overextend myself.

___ I find it easy to keep up with changes that affect my schedule or workload.

___ I try to schedule the most difficult work during my most productive times.

___ I know what my responsibilities and duties are at all times.

___ I try to get only the pertinent information before making a final decision.

___ I finish one job or task before going on to the next.

Scoring key: 25–40 = Excellent time manager 41–55 = Good time manager

56–100 = Poor time manager

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