Happy New Year and warm wishes for a prosperous 2018! The focus on demand-driven skilling has become a key area for capacity building in the leather industry. Last year, we saw the setting up of multi-skill centers in core leather clusters like Kanpur and Agra. This year we will expand them further in Bangalore, Unnao, Vellore and Tiruvallur to strengthen the base for training in close proximity to the industrial cluster. We are also trying to deepen our impact in training of trainers by continuously updating them with latest knowledge, skills and industry best practices. At the same time, we are keen on creating awareness about apprenticeships in various segments of leather industry to support National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) from the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE).
As we just step into the New Year, I am hopeful that many of our plans to improve productivity of the workforce and deliver quality products would have a tangible impact on exports and domestic markets. Our endeavor has been to address your needs for employing skilled people and retaining them with better salary and career paths. I would be happy to hear from you in this regard.