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Employment Scenario Though the Leather Industry, especially the Footwear industry has made a strong contribution to the Indian economy, India's share in global trade remains low, however being a labour intensive industry, its contribution to employment is significant. In a recent study carried out by NMCC, it was highlighted that total employment in this sector would amount to 2.5 million (30 percent of which are women). Footwear industry provides employment to the uneducated population - 40 percent of employment is represented by unskilled workers doing table work operation in the assembly line. Large employment opportunities on the input side - minority community and low caste people have their sole source of livelihood from collecting carcasses, skinning dead animals and tanning leather. The Footwear industry has potential to provide employment across all sections of the economy Industry estimates of employment potential 3 lakh jobs in next 3 years. The potential for employment is across all skills to the tune of semi-skilled and unskilled labourers - 92 percent; technical supervisory, shop floor - 7 percent; entrepreneurs, senior managers and technologists - 1 percent. Indian Footwear and Leather industry is clearly optimistic about the future. To protract this optimism, State Governments must ensure that they are able to create an attractive and enabling environment. (Confederation of Indian IndustryCII believes this can be achieved through openness to investments, good governance and robust infrastructure.
Employment & Child Labour Issues
India’s leather industry employs 1.7 million people and helps the socially-disadvantaged, known as Scheduled Castes in officials, earn a livelihood. And even though India has a cattle population of 195 million – the world’s largest – cows provide only 10.8 percent of hides. The rest are derived from goat and sheep. The fear is that the campaign against Indian leather will embrace these animals too.
The Leather Industry is Labour intensive and is concentrated in the small and cottage industry sectors. While leather shoes and uppers are concentrated in large scale units, the sandals and chappals are produced in the household and cottage sector. The processes in the footwear making include last making, pattern cutting, clicking, sewing Assembling and finishing. There is no gender selectivity in child labour. Adults earn wages that are only marginally higher than what the children earn. Irrespective of the experience, skill and family size and requirements the wage payment system remains insensitive and relatively inelastic. Children contribute 20 to 40 per cent of the family income. The labour in the leather industry is defined by the caste location. While market forces predominantly govern all other aspects of the industry, the labour is drawn exclusively from the most downtrodden section. As heads of 60 per cent of the households are engaged in leather work, the leather sector study establishes the incidence of child labour in leather flaying as an intergenerational phenomenon.
Women Employees Women are employed in large numbers in Indian leather industry and are making important contribution to the national economy as well as to exports. Women are involved in footwear production in Athani (Karnataka), Rajasthan, Agra (UP) and Chennai, Ambur, Ranipet and Vaniambadi (Tamil Nadu). Their entry into productive work has helped considerably in improving their household situation. With the `take off' of the footwear industry, especially in the last 20 years and the rapid rise of exports, women's employment has increased. The leather industry has been designated as a hazardous industry under the Factory Act 1948, and has a mandatory requirement of formal approvals for expansion. It has been observed that formal units expand and set up illegal units, where the bulk of women workers, especially dalit women are found. Women are not documented as 'workers' on any official records. Therefore, they are not legally entitled to any compensations or benefits. These women are recruited through contractors and are engaged in all stages of the tanning process. Their tasks are time consuming, backbreaking and the most hazardous.
Footwear Industry to Generate Jobs for Women Source: http://www.hindu.com/2008/04/18/stories/2008041853980500.htm KOZHIKODE: With the Feroke-Cheruvannur-Ramanatukara industrial belt in Kozhikode set to emerge as a hub of footwear manufacture, a spin-off would be the creation of sizeable job opportunities, especially for women. The Footwear Design and Development Institute in Cheruvannur set up with the objective of quality control and design improvement, with the assistance of footwear manufacturing units in the area and the proactive involvement of the Kudumbasree Mission and the Cheruvannur-Nallalam grama panchayat, is expected to create job opportunities for scores of women. “The two-and-a-half month training in footwear stitching has been completed for the first batch. Basic qualification for the trainees is orientation towards tailoring,” V. Naushad of the VKC Group and the main force behind the venture told The Hindu here on Sunday. The support of the Government of India came by way of 30 per cent subsidy for setting up the training centre by including footwear manufacture in the ‘thrust’ sector list. The Central Leather Research Institute, Chennai, conducted the tests for trainees. It also provided assistance of Rs.56 lakh. Mr. Naushad said the State Kudumbasree Mission was providing assistance for conducting the training. The grama panchayat was involved in organising the training programme. As of now, seven machines were provided for a group of 10 members each. Contract job workAfter the training, the women would be in a position to take up contract stitching job works for the footwear manufacturers. The entire operation has been planned on a large scale, Mr. Naushad said. As many as 1,000 women would be trained in the skill over a period of three years. The skilled stitching is now done by migrant labourers from West Bengal. There are as many as 100-odd small and big footwear units in the Cheruvannur-Feroke-Ramanatukara belt, said Mr. Rasheed, District Industries Centre. K.P.A. Hashim, Standing Committee chairman of Cheruvannur-Nallalam grama panchayat said women were being trained in `upper stitching’ of footwear. Workers from BengalNow more than 1,500 skilled workers from West Bengal are engaged in the job. The effort is to train local women in the skill and thereby generate economic activity on a large scale. A 12-member women group has undergone training and practical experience at the manufacturing units. The second batch of 40 women is in the process of completing training, Mr. Hashim said. P. Damodaran of Odisia welcomed the setting up of the Design Centre. He said it would help improve quality. The training will ensure the availability of organised skilled labour, said Paul Varghese of Hawalker. The Design Centre must have its own premises, he adds. Mr. Naushad stressed the importance of technology upgrading. Only less than 50 per cent of the footwear required was produced here. The trend can be reversed by manufacture of footwear of quality and consumer–friendly designs and the Design Centre was an initiative in this direction.
Human Resource in Indian Footwear Industry The Indian leather industry has come a long way. In the process, it has come to occupy a place of prominence in view of its massive potential for growth & exports while providing opportunities for employment over 2.5 million people in the industry, of whom 30 % are women. There are 2.5 million persons engaged in leather and allied activities and large pool of trained man power is engaged in tanning and product sectors. Indian technologist are employed in most of the Asian and African nations.A fairly good institutional base has now been established in India, which is fulfilling the training and Human Resource development requirements of the organized industry. Yet, the numbers of people they are able to provide are much below the requirement and are globally less accepted.The footwear industry has the unique status of linking the most developed and rich people of the world as consumers with the developing and underdeveloped producers of leather products. But still, Indian leather & footwear industry has a quite less share in global market. Catering to the rising demands in this sector, many students pursue these footwear design & technology courses today as the retail sector holds a promising future for the professionals trained in this field. In order to fulfill the rapidly growing demand for qualified professionals in this industry, various institutes offer footwear design & technology courses in India.
Below mentioned is the list of India's best institutes that offer Footwear Design & Technology Courses in India-
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