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The guidelines for customs brokers’ career progression and specialization program are under review and for finalization soon
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The Career Progression and Specialization Program-Credit Accumulation and Transfer System aims to create a system of career pathways, equivalencies, and quality-assured mechanisms for the validation, accreditation, and recognition of formal, non-formal, and informal learning outcomes for each regulated profession
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Professional Regulatory Board for Customs Brokers chairman Samuel Bautista said the CPSP-CATS will recognize customs brokers’ level of specialization
The guidelines for customs brokers’ career progression and specialization are under review and for finalization soon, according to Samuel Bautista, chairman of the Professional Regulatory Board for Customs Brokers under the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC).
A draft of the brokers’ Career Progression and Specialization Program-Credit Accumulation and Transfer System Program (CPSP-CATS) was created in 2022. CPSP-CATS aims to create a system of career pathways, equivalencies, and quality-assured mechanisms for the validation, accreditation, and recognition of formal, non-formal, and informal learning outcomes for each regulated profession.
The program is pursuant to Republic Act (RA) No. 10912, or the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Act of 2016, and RA No. 10968 or the Philippine Qualifications Framework. It is also in keeping with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Qualifications Reference Framework and ASEAN mutual recognition arrangements, as well as other international qualification standards through career progression mechanisms leading to specialization/sub-
RA 10912 mandates PRC and Professional Regulatory Boards (PRCS) to formulate and implement a CPSP for every profession. The CPSP will form part of the CPD. RA 10968, on the other hand, states it is the policy of the state to institutionalize the PQF to encourage lifelong learning of individuals and provide employee specific training standards and qualifications aligned with industry standards.
At the sidelines of the recent 4th Visayas Shipping Conference and Exhibit 2025 in Cebu City, Bautista told PortCalls the program will recognize customs brokers’ level of specialization, just like in other regulated professions such as medicine, wherein doctors have their specialties and subspecialties.
Specializations may, for example, be in handling transshipments, international commercial terms (Incoterms), economic zone transactions, and customs audit. There will be levels of specialization, which can be achieved through various criteria to be provided in the guidelines.
The level of specialization will be included in the PRC license.
Asked how the program will benefit traders using services of customs brokers, Bautista said clients can be assured that the customs broker they are engaging is an expert on the kind of service required of them.
He noted this is part of the “evolution” of the profession, since customs brokers now do more than just customs clearance but are involved in the supply chain and logistics requirements of their clients.
Notably, supply chain management is now a part of the curriculum of customs administration students, although the subject is not yet part of the customs brokers licensure examination. – Roumina Pablo
