Vocational training graduates battle for industrial economy through leather sector

SHE is fighting steadily to attain her long dream of engaging in self-employment through value chain addition in livestock sector.

The lady is no other than Ms Benardeta William. She is a graduate in leather processing technology courses at the Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology (DIT) Mwanza Campus and is now an employee at Kilimanjaro International Leather Industries Company Limited (KLICL) in Moshi District of Kilimanjaro Region.

She started developing such an idea after Mwanza Campus took her at KLICL for skills exchange programmes during her studying era in 2017.

Through the programmes, Ms William became lucky to practice the use of digital machines in all KLICL departments. She mastered the machines, a situation that helped her to attain the job in KLICL after the graduation, following her competency and flexibility to serve either department.

The lady keeps on sharpening her skills through job training at KLICL, affirming her capability to serve any leather processing industry in and outside Tanzania.

“I’m also flexible to match with dramatic change in technology, a reason why I think on self-employment but without compromising the relationship with my current boss.

“I can make it during my off-duty shifts because I need no losing this skill sharpening opportunity I have here,” said the lady. she at the same time urged the government to serve all vocational colleges with modern machines for mass production of experts in leather industry.

The lady recalled the way her college missed the modern machines, only to let students conduct their practices analogically. She reiterated that modern machines will encourage self- employment to majority youths, hence, supporting the country ‘s industrialisation agenda through the leather sector.

A move will also propel joint investment among the graduates, in efforts to fight lack of capital, a serious challenge facing majority small scale investors. According to her, even a single segment in leather industry can make amazing contribution to industrialisation, citing an example of how ladies’ footwear and handbags are marketable everywhere in the world.

“Ladies fashions keep on changing every now and then. What Tanzanians need is education on what really value chain addition means in leather sector, “she said.

Her colleague, a graduate in leather processing technology courses at Dakawa Vocational Training Centre (VTC), Mr Editridis Ubongo, commented that available of modern machines in vocational colleges is another segment to support Tanzanian industrialisation agenda as graduates will be able to match with changes in technologies. Himself had never touched any computerised machines until he secured the job at KLICL.

It consumed him a time to practice the use of modern machines in KLICL, so that he could match with working environments. However, he expressed his gratitude to KLICL that usually sets a time to newcomers for machine use practices in its departments.

“I’m proud of it as I can now run any kind of machine here. But it might sound better if all graduates get in jobs with full skills to run the modern machines,” he recommended.

KLICL Factory Supervisor, Mr Albert Dotto, supported the motion that having graduates with modern machines use skills would reduce training time to new comers.

However, he commended Dakawa VTC and Mwanza Campus, whose graduates have been trainable and easily switch from analog to digital working environments. “They really support especially footwear production for office, school and army use, on top of slippers and Sandals, as well as other kinds of leather products like handbags, belts and key holders,” he said.

KLICL Sales and Marketing Manager, Mr Donald Nkomavantu, commented that manufacturing will shoot up, as it (KLICL) sets to have min-industry for raw skin processing, in the near future. The mini-industry will open the markets for raw skins, he said calling on mostly pastoralists to grab such an opportunity.

“We intensify public education to let them have knowledge on skin treatment, after animals slaughtering,” he said. He further educated that after the slaughtering, the animal should be hanged up, to easy the skinning.

One should make a small cut on the animal’s neck with a knife, then go for skinning using the hands. Use of a knife throughout the process is strictly discouraged, so as to have a clean skin with no pieces of the meat.

“The salt should be applied to skin and hang it somewhere for the drying. Then after, the skin is to be folded and kept in a clean shelve, ready for sales. “KLICL is therefore a prospective reliable market to majority pastoralists.

We also look forward for an expansion of our production.

“Roughly, the current production is 1.2 million footwear on an annual basis, as well as about 184, 500 small products like handbags, belts and key holders,” he said.