Who is a leather artisan?
A leather artisan is a worker skilled in leather work technology or closely related field. Leather work technology is the processing of raw animal hides into leather and production of goods from leather and related materials.

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Leather artisans turn raw animal hides into leather to manufacture leather goods such as; shoes, clothing, handbags and other products made of leather. These workers also work in leather products factories for production of various leather goods.

Other closely related title(s)

1. Leather worker
2. Leather tanner
3. Leather products maker
4. Shoe maker/ repairer

What is the work environment?
Leather artisans usually work indoors in a factory type environment to turn raw animal hide into leather or production of leather related goods and products.

Some important skills to have
To work effectively, leather artisans need to have some important skills and qualities such as;

1. Ability to work with hands
2. Extreme precision/ accuracy to minimize material wastage
3. Detail oriented
4. Safety awareness to minimize accidents in production areas
5. Communication skills to communicate effectively with others
6. Interpersonal skills to relate well with others at the workplace
7. Mechanical skills to properly use various equipment’s
8. Customer service skills to deal appropriately with clients
9. Among others

What are some career opportunities?
Leather artisans can find work in various places such as; tanneries, footwear industries, leather goods manufacturing companies, the jua kali sector, rehabilitation centers, educational institutions and government departments among other areas.

Leather artisans can also use their creativity and start their own profit making ventures (self-employment).

Becoming a leather artisan

Admission requirements
To pursue a career as a leather artisan right from secondary school, a Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE), mean grade E is required.

Training & Study options
With a KCSE mean grade E, you can proceed to a Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) college and enroll for an appropriate artisan course. Artisan courses are also offered within Vocational Training Centers (VTCs) within your region.

So what course(s) can you pursue in TVET colleges?

1. Trade test in leatherwork technology
2. Or other similar/ related courses

Education Progression
After a successful completion of an artisan course, you can advance your education upward (in a relevant field)up to university level if that’s your goal. How is this possible?

1. Get an artisan certificate
2. Advance to craft certificate, (in a relevant field)
3. Advance to diploma certificate, (in a relevant field)
4. Advance to degree certificate, (in a relevant field)

How to Join TVET College.
There are two ways you can follow to join training institution(s) in pursuit of your career of choice. The majority way is applying through the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (Kuccps). This is a state owned agency that admits/ places government sponsored students to TVET colleges and universities. One of the advantages of applying through Kuccps is that, upon successful placement, you will pay subsidized fee as a government sponsored student.

To be placed through Kuccps you must have attained a certain pass mark required for various education levels such as degrees, diplomas, certificates and artisan courses. For an artisan course, you need a KCSE mean grade E. For more details on placement criteria, visit Kuccps website. The second approach is applying directly to training institution of your choice. Students who opt to apply this way do not get government fee subsidy and are therefore self-sponsored.

How to fund your post-secondary education.
If you are a needy student, upon application, you can get education loan from Higher Education Loans Board (HELB), a state owned institution that gives education loans to students joining technical colleges and universities. You can also access education bursaries from your local Member of Parliament (MP) or the County Government among other sources.