Question of Accreditors as Content Providers Among Uncertainties for Continuing Ed Program
There's some concern that organizations that will be tasked with approving materials for a planned customs broker continuing education program will have a conflict of interest if they are also allowed to provide content for the program. That issue came up during a CBP Webinar June 6 on plans for the continuing education program. The conflict of interest question also came during the May 22 Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations meeting during some discussion of the largely nascent program. CBP has previously said it plans to seek applications from interested parties to accredit continuing education materials (see 13050222).
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There are currently other education providers that both give accreditation and as well as create content, including the American Association of Exporters and Importers and the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America, noted Elena Ryan, director of Trade Facilitation and Administration at CBP. Ryan said that while she would not consider involvement in both of those tasks to be a conflict, it is something that will continue to be examined over the next several months as the agency continues to get input from the trade.
CBP likely will not require accredited training programs from an individual company to be available to others in the industry, said Ryan. "I believe that a lot of companies' training they would consider proprietary and specific to their own business and their own importing activities or their own brokerage activities," she said. If a company wants to offer it, "that's fine," said Ryan, but she would not advocate for CBP to require companies to make such training available to all.
If an employer refuses to allow a broker to take the time for training during business hours, it may be necessary for brokers to do the continuing education on their own time, she said. There is expected to be a lot of continuing education options to be available at all hours and getting to the expected requirement of 40-hours per three years seems doable, even if outside of business hours, she said.
Email ITTNews@warren-news.com for a copy of CBP's Webinar presentation.