On 11 December 2025, at the initiative of the Regional Training Center – World Customs Organization in Skopje, and in cooperation with the Jean Monnet Chair at the Faculty of Economics of Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, students attending the courses Foreign Trade taught by Prof. Dr. Irena Kikerkova, European Economic Integration taught by Prof. Dr. Elena Makrevska Disoska, and International Management taught by Prof. Dr. Ljubomir Drakulevski, visited the Customs Administration of the Republic of North Macedonia.
The independent advisers from the Training Department within the Human Resources Sector of the Customs Administration—Liljana Zhivković Davitkova, Nikola Kostovski, and Sofija Cvetkova—demonstrated to the students the virtual training equipment used for training customs officers to detect prohibited goods in containers in maritime transport and in small consignments in air transport. Given the fact that our country does not have access to the sea, special attention was devoted to the possibilities this equipment offers in the training of customs officers working at airport customs warehouses.
First, it was explained that, based on customs risk assessment depending on the origin of the goods, consignments are directed to one of three so-called channels within the customs procedure: the green channel, where goods are immediately released into the customs procedure without delay; the yellow channel, where additional documentary control is carried out before the customs procedure begins; and the red channel, which is reserved for high-risk goods that, in addition to documentary control, also require a physical inspection. This was followed by a demonstration of the virtual training equipment. Particular emphasis was placed on the advantages of this type of training, especially in terms of avoiding unintended errors and operational disruptions that may occur when training is conducted with physical presence at airports, while simultaneously increasing training efficiency through time savings and cost reduction.
The students had the opportunity to individually try the equipment and experience the possibilities it offers in training for the detection of smuggled or incorrectly declared goods. The visit left a strong impression on the entire group.