Eligibility

Candidates having a B.Tech. / M.Tech. in leather technology are eligible for good jobs in prestigious leather firms export houses and government organizations. Moreover, candidates who have done the Management Course in Footwear Technology (MFT), the Diploma Course in

Footwear Designing (DFD) and the Supervisory Course in Footwear Technology (SFT) can get excellent jobs in leading footwear companies.

Candidates who have cleared the intermediate level examination, with a background in science (especially physics; chemistry and mathematics) are eligible for the B.Tech. course in leather technology. Those who have successfully completed the B.Tech. course in leather technology are eligible for the M.Tech. course.

Diploma or short-term certificate courses in leather technology are also available. The B.Tech. course is of four years' duration, whereas the Master's course is generally of two years duration. Several institutes all over the country offer professional training for the leather industry at the graduate and postgraduate level in all three areas of work, design, and manufacture and marketing.

While most leather institutes concentrate on manufacture, there are fashion design institutes that also offer courses in leather designing Moreover, general courses in fashion design or merchandising can also provide the basis for a career in the leather industry.

The Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI) at Madras offers Certificate and diploma courses in leather technology the institute also offers B.Tech. and M.Tech. courses in leather technology and footwear technology. Ph.D. course are also offered at the CLRI. College of Leather Technology in

Calcutta offers a four, year B.Tech. course in leather technology. Selection to the course is through the JEE examination. Harcourt Butler Technological Institute (HBTI) in Kanpur offers both, B.Tech. and M.Tech. courses in Leather Technology. Here too, selection to the courses is through the JEE exam.

Alagappa College of Technology in Madras also conducts a B.Tech. course in Leather Technology. Anna University Madras conducts an M.Tech. course in Leather Technology Selection to these courses is on the basis of merit, and entrance exam. The National Institute of Fashion Technology New Delhi has introduced a two-year postgraduate

Leather Technology course in Leather Garment Design and Technology (LGDT) for graduates with a minimum aggregate of 50% marks. Selection to the course is through a preliminary entrance test, a situational test and an interview.

The students, who are taken in, have to undergo internship in reputed leather garment industries for one and a half months, after the completion of two semesters. This provides them with hands-on experience in sampling, color matching, dealing with shipments, shortages, and in incorporating designs.

A three-year diploma course in Computer Aided Design (CAD) is soon to be introduced at the Government Leather Institute at Agra as an innovative experiment, geared towards meeting the needs of the modern Indian leather industry. The institute is expected to initially take in 30 students selected through a State joint entrance examination. The minimum eligibility criteria for the course is, a high school examination or 10+2, with Science and Math’s.

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES

Ability to work hard and for long hours in unpleasant surroundings, the ability to tolerate the smell of murky raw hides and animal skins in the factories. Executives should have good managerial and organizing abilities and above average intelligence. Designers should be creative and should have a flair for sketching.