EMERGING CAREER GROWTH IN LEATHER GOODS INDUSTRY IN INDIA

EMERGING CAREER GROWTH IN LEATHER GOODS INDUSTRY IN INDIA

Leather, we may know as a natural material being obtained from animals. But raw leather or skin of the animal is not suitable for usage due to various factors of which natural decomposition of leather being the most important.  It is only after raw leather had undergone a series of highly mechanized processes in tanneries, it gets ready for practical usage. But can leather be used alone until and unless it is been transformed into a product? So, any product which consists 60% or more of leather is called leather good.

“Leather Goods” is a broader term which is often not recognized by a lot many people. It comprises of those products which are made out of leather and are used to define a particular lifestyle. For example, leather jackets, handbags, caps, belts, gloves, upholstery (furniture) or a desktop accessory reflects a particular lifestyle. Leather products compliments with the basic need of human being like clothing, food and shelter. Hence, a handbag compliments with a nice dress, upholstery compliments with the interiors of a house, and tea-coater made out of leather compliments with a cup of tea. A leather good is also termed as lifestyle accessory.

Now, the question is how do we obtain such kind of products? We are living in a cosmopolitan society where our sources for information are at our finger tip. When we browse the internet, we come across thousands of brands selling lifestyle products online. We can also visit their stores located in our domestic market. But, we may not know where or how these products are manufactured.

Let me widen your knowledge about the source of leather goods and its prospects as a career choice. India is a huge source of raw leather, mostly obtained from cattle, processed in tanneries to obtain finished leather. The finished leather is then supplied to industries / factories for the purpose of goods manufacturing – handbags, jackets, footwear, belts, gloves etc. This is a huge sector which is called the leather goods industry. It comprises of industry of various scale ranging from cottage industries, medium and small scale enterprises to large scale enterprises. A huge percentage of leather goods manufactured in India is exported to the overseas markets. India itself covers almost 10% of global leather production of worth US $ 6.49 billion in the year 2014 -15 (as per data records of Council of Leather Exports in India). Leather articles are included in the country’s GDP and the sector is rated as one of the top ten foreign exchange earners for the country. Such a vast sector and hence allows a huge employment opportunity for us.

The global prospect of leather industry is very promising. It targets to achieve trade volume of worth US$ 246 Billion by 2020. A cumulative growth is expected at 6% per annum. Successively, India targets leather export to reach USD $ 9.8 billion by 2020 against Global projected trade volume of USD $ 246 billion. Leather goods and Leather garments sector shall be on up rise with a targeted export volume of US$ 1900.22 million and US$ 965.30 million respectively as against total export volume of US$ 9800.00 million, which is almost 30% of the total export volume.

 As per a survey conducted by the Press Information Bureau of India, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and International Labor comparisons, 2.5 million in India are employed under the Leather Goods sector and thus comprising 21.6% of the total employment sector.

The “Make in India” plan introduced by our Hon’ble Prime Minister – Shri. Narendra Modi comes with a vision of one million job opportunities in leather industry by 2016.

The Indian leather industry is a labor intensive sector, majorly unorganized providing employment to mostly the weaker sections of the society covering almost 60% of the total employee strength. Women employment is predominant in this sector with about 30% share. Hence, there is an opportunity of remaining 40% for the educated class of employees. Today, prominent Government institutions like Footwear Design & Development Institute (FDDI), National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Northern India Institute for Fashion Technology (NIIFT), Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI), Karnataka Institute for Leather Technology (KILT), Government Polytechnic, Maharashtra are offering Long and short duration full time courses in Leather, Apparel and Accessories Design & Technology. These courses are profession oriented courses and offered in undergraduate and post-graduate discipline. The students after the completion of their courses aspire to join the leather goods industries at a managerial position under profile of designers, merchandisers, marketing and production executives.

Although this seems to be a very off-beat choice for career selection, but the potential of this sector is enormously growing day by day.

The initial career of an aspirant candidate starts with an assistant label, and is soon promoted to senior, head or chief of their respective departments. The salary package offered to a fresh graduate ranges in between 3.0 lacs to 3.5 lacs per annum. Promotion and hike in salary is totally dependent upon an individual’s performance but this sector has also witnessed a drastic hike (almost twice or thrice) in terms of promotion of the candidates or salary within a very short span of time.

Those candidates who have a knack for exploration, experimentation, innovation, a tendency for research and analyze, sophistication, very good communication skills, positive attitude, balanced temperament, hunger for knowledge, loves travelling, and passion for work can chase their dream career by taking up a desired course in any of the above mentioned institutions. One can visit their official websites for information related to admission procedure.

In the end, I would like to thank my valuable readers for going through this article. I would also like to request them to circulate this information across more and more people and make them aware about the leather goods industry in India and world.  I wish good luck to the aspirant candidates for right career selection. Have a wonderful day!

-          An effort by Satyadeep Chatterjee

(Faculty – Centre for Leather Goods and Accessories Design, FDDI)

The facts and figures used in this article is based upon articles published by Council of Leather Export in India (CLE), Press Information Bureau in India (PIB), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, International Labor Comparisions, Report by Dr. A.A. Khan (Council for Leather Exports – Nov 2010)and Make in India Plan.

 In case of any feedback, grievance please e-mail to satyadeep.chatterjee@hotmail.com