While there exists a huge demand for skilled woodworkers, carpenters, and interior designers in India, it is the supply side that needs to be addressed urgently. Watch how FFSC is helping build result-oriented skilling strategies.
For the past 8 years, Furniture & Fittings Skill Council (FFSC) has been assiduously building an ecosystem for defining job roles, matching jobs with appropriate skill sets, and making skill development a profitable enterprise. The imperative for the industry, to become efficient and globally competitive, is driving it to work closely with FFSC for determining skill requirements and devising the mechanisms for fulfilling them.
“We have achieved a lot as an industry. The biggest hurdle to have been overcome is the acceptance that everyone will have to pitch in to create a cadre of skilled workers and that no outside force can address this issue. There is an undercurrent of collaboration among industry players,” says FFSC’s CEO Rahul Mehta.
In this intense conversation, Mehta talks about how a complex mechanism of content creation, infrastructure building and industry collaboration is taking shape so that the interiors and furniture industry can start to fill the yawning skill gap. He also details how FFSC is helping build result-oriented skilling strategies for enterprises of all sizes.
But this is not going to be enough, he says. “We have to make the woodworking profession an aspirational one so that more people find it interesting to work in our factories, showrooms and design studios. The industry and academia must talk more about the dynamism of the interior and furniture industry. They must talk about the career paths and entrepreneurship opportunities that are coming up. We need to compete with other industries in attracting the youth that is out there looking for a career.”
In this video, Mehta explains how FFSC is equipping its industry partners with the know-how to make their skilling programs result-oriented. He also explains how players can pitch in to give shape to job descriptions, KRAs and training specifications, that would eventually make the interiors and furniture industry an aspirational career destination.
