OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

Although the Footwear Industry was born in India in the pre independence period but it mainly existed at cottage and unorganised leel until Sixties.  it was actually beginning of the Sixties when the leather producers and other entrepreneurs thought of value addition to leather by converting it into footwear and other leather goods as the basic raw material i.e. leather was available in abundance.  Although, the skilled workforce was available in plenty in some parts of the country, but there was acute shortage of the managerial and the supervisory staff with technical qualifications.  This was a severe problem and was acting as the major hindrance in the development of the footwear industry in the country.  To overcome this problem, the Government of India established “Central Footwear Training Centre, Agra” in July 1963, under Small Industries Development Organisation, Ministry of Industry with financial assistance from Ford Foundation.  The erstwhile Centre was well equipped with latest improted machines.  The prime objectives of the Centre were to provide young and technically sound personnel to the footwear industry and to upgrade the knowledge and skill of the existing staff.

 Additions and necessary changes had been made in the infrastructure and management of the Centre from time to time.  But with the rapid growth of the footwear industry in the country and with the introduction of the modern machines in the industry, great need was felt by the Centre to modernise its infrastructure.  To cater the requirements of the industry, com0plete modern plant of the footwear manufacture was imported in the year 1993, with financial assistance from United Nations Industrial Development Organisation under national Leather Development Programme.

It was the 1st January, 1996, when the Central Footwear Training Centre, Agra, was converted into Central Foortwear Training Institute, A Government of India Society under the Chairmanship of Additional Secretary/Development Commissioner (Small Scale Industry), Small Industries Development Organization, Ministry of Industry, Government of India, with an objective of quicker implementation of managerial decisions.

 In this era of rapid technological developments, footwear making is not just an art and craft but it is a specialised technological field.  There is tremendous scope for development and technological advancement as the customer requirements are increasing day by day.  With the introduction of the fastest means of communications, one gets direct access to any part of the world by just playing fingers on the keyboard.  When customer knows it, he demands the same from the industry.  The need of the hour is to collect informations from different parts of the world and transform the same to the footwear industry.  This Institute is doing the same by providing well informed and technically sound young and enthusiastic supervisors and managers to the industry.  The committed and enthusiastic footwear technlogists generated by this Institute (Center) are holding most of the senior positions in the footwear industry and the Institute is proud of their performances.  They are shining like sun of the footwear industry.  Some of our students have crossed even the Geographical boundaries and are working in Gulf and African countries.

With the target of acquiring multifarious knowledge in the field some of our students are opting for International courses abroad including United Kingdom and Italy and some of them are join Management Courses.  After completing 2 years Diploma course in this Institute.  Our students are eligible for admission directly into second year of BTEC diploma course at Southfields College, Leicester, U.K.

The Institute has undergone rejuvenation in all the spheres to achieve its ambitious targets.  Entire plant has been replaced by modern machines.  The machines had been installed in a spacious workshop and plant layout provides it a look of a modern factory.  The entire syllabi were re-casted by the Textile Institute, U.K./, and introduced in the year 1993 and it is once again being reviewed for updating.  New machines for the physical testing of leather and footwear and Intel Pentium computers have been installed.  Under the modernisation programme, almost all the staff members have been trained abroad in advanced methods of footwear production.

The Institute had been fortunate enough in availing expertise from the UNIDO Experts for implementation of the new syllabi and introduction of modern technology.  The Institute library is an ocean of the knowledge.

A large number of periodicals and fashion magazines are assets of the library and available in easy access to students and industry.

The practical work of all the modules is conducted in modern workshop of the Institute.  The workshop is fully equipped with the modern machines from Italy and Germany.  The trainees are provided full liberty to work on these machines for production of shoes by themselves.  Highly skilled workers and foreign trained staff members explain the working of machines and supervise the trainees work.

LIBRARY FACILITIES:-

The Library of the Institute is full of exhaustive material on footwear technology and management subjects.  A big number of video and audio cassettes and picture slides are available in the Library which are used to explain various aspects of footwear and modern methods of footwear production.  The Institute is subscribing for most of the leading journals and fashion magazines for the library to keep latest information readily available.

COMPUTER FACILITIES:-

The students are provided with an opportunity to work on one of the most modern computerized designing and grading system in the Institute.  Computer facility is also used by the trainees for learning the uses of PC during free time under supervision of the teacher.

(A) Introduction of industry need based short term courses in the part time.,
(B) Introduction of full fledged testing facilities for leather and footwear materials
(C) Providing more and more job work facilities.
(D) To establish a fashion studio with CAD & computerised grading facilities and Data Bank on latest market informations.