India and dti collaborate to boost SA’s footwear manufacturing industry

The Department of Trade and Industry (dti) has forged a relationship with the Footwear Design Development Institute (FDDI) of the Indian Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Textiles to, amongst others, train South Africans in footwear design and manufacturing skills.   



The FDDI has seconded a team of six professional experts to the National Footwear Leather Cluster (NFLC) which was established by the dti at Vaal University of Technology (VUT).



The FDDI trains approximately 1 500 professionals annually for the Indian footwear industry.



Areas of collaboration will include all-round training inclusive of footwear design, footwear technology, footwear retail courses and short skills programmes such as footwear pattern making.