Careers
Customs declarant and freight forwarding agent
Goods arriving at the port move only after an accurate declaration. The customs declarant classifies, values, clears and releases: a technical, regulated occupation where the precision of a tariff heading is counted in days of demurrage.
From bill of lading to release
The file arrives with its documents: invoice, bill of lading, certificate of origin, packing list. The first task is tariff classification, which governs everything else. Then comes determining customs value, then choosing the procedure — home use, temporary admission, warehousing. The declaration is entered, assessed, paid. Physical follow-up then takes over: possible inspection, release note, handover to the carrier, continuous updates to the client.
- Classify goods and justify their tariff heading
- Determine a customs value and build the supporting file
- Choose a customs procedure suited to the client's operation
- Enter, assess and follow a declaration through to release
The port and border ecosystem
Licensed brokers
The heart of the trade: they declare on behalf of clients and carry responsibility for the accuracy of the statements.
Importers and manufacturers
Groups importing in volume bring the function in-house to control their lead times and clearance costs.
Forwarders and logistics providers
Customs is embedded in a complete service there: transport, warehousing, distribution inland.
The programme data
Four values, one source. They feed the qualification page, the application form, the equivalence file and the final certificate without ever being re-entered. That single source is what makes two catalogue programmes comparable: the figures carry the same meaning and the same unit everywhere.
- qualification level
- 5
- months of programme
- 9
- taught hours
- 600 h
- credits
- 60
- competency blocks
- 5
Senior technician and supervisor
Led by an instructor.
1 credit = 25 h of work, 10 of them taught.
Framework of the « Customs Declarant and Freight Forwarding Agent » qualification, code TP11.
What each of the blocks covers
For each block the framework states the ground covered and the taught hours devoted to it. That precision serves at the orientation stage, then during the programme, then on exit when you have to describe what you can do. One vocabulary throughout, that of the occupation as companies practise it.
- Customs regulation
- 180 (30 %)
- Documents and declarations
- 170 (28 %)
- Transport and forwarding
- 150 (25 %)
- Costs, invoicing and client relations
- 60 (10 %)
- Professional conduct
- 40 (7 %)
- Customs regulation · 180 h — Customs regimes, customs value, tariff classification, origin, disputes
- Documents and declarations · 170 h — Document sets, declarations, filing systems, inspections
- Transport and forwarding · 150 h — Modes, chartering, Incoterms, insurance, shipment tracking
- Costs, invoicing and client relations · 60 h — All-in quotations, invoicing, disputes, dealing with principals
- Professional conduct · 40 h — Ethics, dealing with the customs administration
The programme that prepares for cross-border trade
This table sets side by side what genuinely prepares for this role. Credits and taught hours measure the gap between two options; fees relate that gap to a budget. Those are the three questions a candidate asks, and the three answers sit on a single row.
| Programme | Duration | Credits | Taught hours | Fees |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| International Trade · Bachelor's degree | 2 years | 120 | 1200 h | 5 000 000 GNF per year |
The questions we get about this occupation
Is the trade open without port experience?
Yes. The qualification installs the full customs reasoning from the texts, and companies in the sector readily hire trained profiles whom they then support on their own flows. Experience in transport or warehousing is an excellent starting point.
What comes after this qualification?
The logistics and forwarding manager, also at level 5, broadens into full operations; the supply chain manager, at level 6, adds purchasing, inventory and provider steering.
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