I have never seen so much interest in the shoe industry as I see now,” H. Dasgupta, manager of Liberty Shoes in Calcutta, observes. And if anyone is qualified to comment on the changing trends in the shoe industry, it is 77-year-old Dasgupta, who has been a part of it for nearly six decades now. Having entered Bata in 1948 as a “helper” who cleaned shelves and arranged shoes in various outlets, he went on to become a manager at a Bata Store, all along keeping a close watch on the growth of the industry.

“Until about seven or eight years ago, there was no remarkable change in the market,” he says. “But suddenly, there is a boom. Shoes, in thousands of designs and colours, are flooding the market.”

Attributing the trend to the increased buying power of the Indian shopper as well as to the emergence of brand and fashion consciousness in the country, industry experts point out that there is an increased demand for professionals in shoe design and technology. “There is a lot of scope in this niche sector,” concurs Rina Shah, head of Rinaldi Shoes, adding, “With very few designers working in this field in India today, there are many opportunities for youngsters. You can work in the production, design or manufacturing departments of footwear companies.”

Indeed, the Indian footwear market, which has grown at an unprecedented rate over the last couple of years, is now estimated to be worth over Rs 10,000 crore. Today, India is the second largest footwear manufacturer in the world. At the micro level — for instance, at the Regal Shoes store on Chowringhee — this has meant a “40 to 45 per cent increase in supply and demand,” says store manager, Aftab Mohid. “Today, Indian shoe buyers want more variety since they have a ‘disposable’ mindset. So no matter how expensive a product, they don’t expect a life-long association with it,” he says.

Nilesh Roy, assistant manager, Metro Shoes, agrees. “Earlier, the average middle-class Bengali person would go through life with maybe a pair of rubber slippers and one decent pair of shoes that cost them around Rs 200. Now people buy shoes for Rs 5,000 or Rs 10,000 and discard them as soon as there is a change in fashion,” he says.

Sahadat Ali, assistant manager, Mochi, Calcutta, puts it all in perspective, when he says, “Earlier, we celebrated if we sold shoes worth Rs 1,000 in a day. Now, even a Rs 20,000 purchase in just half a day goes unremarked.”

And if industry insiders are to be believed, salaries of those who work in the shoe industry are similarly on an upswing. The starting salaries of those joining the industry are in the range of Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 per month.

Of course, in order to join the industry, especially if you are interested in production, design and manufacturing, it helps to have a degree from an institute teaching footwear technology.

One of the premier institutes in footwear technology in India is the Noida-based Footwear Design and Development Institute (FDDI). It offers undergraduate, postgraduate and short-term courses. The post graduate diploma in management (footwear technology) is a two-year programme dealing with various aspects of footwear manufacturing and management. To be eligible to apply for its 60 seats, you need to be a graduate in any stream and qualify in the entrance exam. The institute also takes into account CAT or MAT scores. This programme prepares students to start their career as management trainees, assistant managers and managers.

FDDI also offers a PG diploma in creative designing. Besides graduation, you need to appear for a creative ability test to get admission in this course. The fee structure for the postgraduate programme is Rs 60,000 per semester and Rs 50,000 for the undergraduate programme.

The institute also offers a three-year undergraduate course in footwear technology. Admission is on the basis of Class XII marks, an entrance test, group discussion and an interview. This programme has 50 seats. For working professionals, the institute offers short-term courses on footwear manufacturing technology. Says Sandeep Bhatia, assistant director (training), FDDI, “Our courses are designed to suit the demands of the industry. The curriculum, learning methodologies, training aids and infrastructure, including laboratories and machinery, are constantly assessed to ensure that they meet international standards.”

Practical training is a crucial aspect of all footwear courses. Students have to work long hours at fabrication centres and in design labs. This serves them in good stead once they are ready to leave their footprints in the market. Students from FDDI, for instance, are working with some of the top names in the industry, including Reebok, Adidas, Nike, Bata, Pantaloon, Lifestyle Stores, Footmart and Landmark.

Besides FDDI, you can opt to study footwear technology in the Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI) in Chennai and at the Central Footwear Training Centre which has branches in Agra and Chennai. At the prestigious National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), footwear design is offered as a module in the sixth and seventh semesters in the four-year undergraduate programme on leather design.

“We teach them designing and patterning and at the end of the seventh semester, students have to make at least a pair of footwear,” says Usha Narasimhan, associate professor and co-ordinator of the leather design course at NIFT. Students of this course also have the choice of doing their final year project on footwear.

So if you want people to step out in style, then check out this career.