At the event, skill ambassadors, experts, enablers and academy leaders were honoured for shaping the decadal journey through mobilisation, training, content development and support.

The Furniture and Fittings Skill Council (FFSC) recently celebrated its 10th Foundation Day in New Delhi. It was created with the purpose of training hands and professionalising the furniture manufacturing sector.

A decade later FFSC has built a sustainable workforce in India’s furniture and interiors industry with over 6,00,000 skilled hands, 1,800 skill ambassadors, 16 regional chapters, and 30-odd skill academies.

The event was attended by more than 250 stakeholders from across the country, encompassing manufacturers, designers, educators, CSR leaders, policy influencers and skill champions. The gathering marked a moment of reflection, strategy and re-commitment to the sector’s skilling vision.

At the 10th Annual General Meeting, its CEO Rahul Mehta acknowledged the collective effort behind FFSC’s journey, from grassroots skill ambassadors to industry champions.

He outlined a future-forward strategy centred around building a sustainable skilling ecosystem, enhancing training quality, and deepening employment linkages across diverse sub-sectors including hardware, panels, machinery and finishing.

New leadership

Nandkishore Mistry, Managing Director of Swati Interiors, was elected the Chairperson of FFSC. Joining him were Satyan Thukral (Caple Industrial Solutions) as Co-Chairperson, Deepak Gupta (Bracecorp Technologies) as Treasurer, and a newly appointed group of regional skill chapter presidents.

The council also announced the formation of the Jodhpur regional chapter, with Radheshyam Ranga (Chairman, Latiyal Handicrafts) as its lead, a strategic move in one of India’s most significant furniture manufacturing zones.

Colonel (retd.) Mahendra Payaal, Executive Vice-President of the National Skill Development Council, praised FFSC’s industry-driven model as one of the most promising among India’s sector skill councils, emphasizing the need for greater adoption of apprenticeships and work-based learning formats.

The skilling ecosystem built by FFSC now includes over 8,500 CSR-funded training programmes, 15 sector-specific job roles, and India’s first-ever Medallion of Excellence in cabinet making at WorldSkills 2024.

The event honoured skill ambassadors, skill experts, skill enablers, and skill academy leaders who have shaped this journey through mobilization, training, content development and support.

The release of learner and trainer handbooks for 15 job roles, including three aligned with WorldSkills, marked another step toward content excellence.

The Foundation Day also saw signing of multiple memoranda of understanding to expand FFSC’s academy network and deepen industry linkages. New partners include Basant, Swati Interiors, Prominence, Dormak, Siddhi Industries, Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts and Bharatiya Skills Deemed University.

A focused panel led by Mahesh M. (Creaticity) addressed sub-sectoral skilling gaps in finishing, panels and hardware. Leaders from Greenply, Ozone, Woodtech, and Plantag underscored the need for granular job roles and updated training frameworks.

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