Education, Careers & Professional News
Footwear courses : A Lucrative Career Option
Itching to stand on your own feet, as the cliche goes? Well, footwear technology is a lucrative career option.
These days, footwear technology provides widespread opportunities be it in footwear manufacturing, trading, retail, wholesale, import or export industry both in India and abroad. Students get initial placements as management trainees, designers, stylists, product developers, quality controllers, footwear technologists, merchandisers, marketing executives, production supervisors, business development executives, planning executives etc. And in case you are a very independent kind, you can also start a business with a small investment.
For Delhi-based aspirants, the nearest option is the Footwear Design and Development Institute (FDDI) in Noida. The institute offers various courses, including a three-year diploma course in footwear technology, a sixmonth certificate course in footwear manufacturing technology, and a six-month course on basic shoe designing, among others. Minimum eligibility for the courses is completion of Class XII.
Says G Joshi, course coordinator, FDDI: The Indian corporate, along with foreign multinationals, have made it possible to look forward to exciting employment options. Earlier, a career in footwear designing, technology and management was unheard of. Now, thanks to the boom in the Indian footwear industry, it is certain that the demand for skilled professionals will go up in the years to come.
Adds Shivang Kushwaha, Indian representative, ICC Lavoro (a Portugal shoe company) and an alumni of FDDI: This course is not being explored by many. For me, doing this course was a major breakthrough.
All You Need To Know -
Selection process: Admission is based on entrance test, followed by group discussion and personal interview.
Number of seats: 40
Fee structure: Varies between Rs 50,000 and Rs 1.5 lakh, depending on the course.
Employment opportunities: Regular employment available with multi-national companies. Students also get placement in major international buying houses dealing in footwear and allied products.
Remunerations: Pay is generally high. Fresh recruits can expect a monthly salary between Rs 15,000 and Rs 25,000, depending upon their qualifications and the size of the organisation.