The Portuguese shoe industry association APICCAPS has set itself the goal of attracting young professionals to the shoe industry. The declared investment in the development of the industry is 50 million euros, writes worldfootwear.com
Armed with the slogan “Feeling Sexy” and the call “Join us and make our industry the sexiest in Europe!” APICCAPS conducts a large-scale campaign to search for young personnel in the regions of the country where the shoe industry is most developed.
The figures speak for themselves: since 2010, 9000 jobs have been created in the shoe industry in Portugal. Portuguese companies provide career opportunities for young people in various fields - in logistics, marketing and sales, in the technological field.
The search for young talent is one of the first measures taken by the recently elected APICCAPS president, Luis Onofre. He announced an investment program for 50 million euros. It is expected that in the next three years, within the framework of the adopted program, the main efforts will be aimed at strengthening technological expertise.
In addition to attracting qualified young people, advanced training of specialists in such areas as design, fashion, marketing, new technologies, it is planned to promote an internship program, entrepreneurship support programs and strengthen training programs.
The leading institutes - the Academy of Design and Shoes with faculties in the cities of São João da Madeiro and Felgeiras, as well as the Felgueiras Vocational School offer courses that address the needs of the shoe sector and guarantee students a high level of employment. Students are provided with finances that cover their transportation and food expenses, and provide scholarships. An internship at a shoe company is a mandatory part of the educational program.
In the 2016 year, Portugal exported 81,6 million pairs of shoes with a total value of 1,9 million euros. In general, 95% of shoes produced in the country are exported.
At 2016, annual industry growth was 3,2%. The level of sales to foreign markets reached another historic high. Moreover, the growth of export of Portuguese footwear continues for the seventh year. Although most of the exports of footwear from Portugal are to European countries (France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and Great Britain), Portuguese footwear sales are also growing in other countries' markets. The export of Portuguese footwear is especially noticeable in such markets as China (+ 9,7%), New Zealand (12,8%) and the USA (+ 13,6%).
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