EDB, gem/jewellery industry to jointly encourage designers
The Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) and the Sri Lanka Gem and Jewellery Association (SLGJA) in collaboration with the Academy of Design (AOD) has launched a 12-month Diploma in Jewellery Designing to develop the jewellery designer pool by attracting young and talented designers towards the industry.
An EDB media release said the gem and jewellery industry remains one of the country’s main foreign exchange earners and is the fifth largest industry in terms of receiving foreign exchange revenue to the country.
However annual foreign exchange earnings from jewellery are minimal compared to that of gem exports during the past few years. At present, Sri Lanka’s main markets for jewellery are the US, UAE, Singapore, Hong Kong, Germany, Japan and Switzerland.
The main factors hindering the progress of the industry are the lack of awareness on the benefits of using design as a differentiator in the international market and inadequate number of designers who are capable of producing exquisite designs to attract the high-end segments in the international markets.
“The limited local designer pool and the limited capacity of designers to visualise and conceptualise the jewellery designs according to the consumer requirement and produce designs that have a global appeal, has affected the industry in promoting high end jewellery internationally,” said Indira Malwatte, Chairperson and Chief Executive, EDB.
“The development of design in the industry will help to produce directly to the consumer market especially to the high- end and attract more international buyers to Sri Lanka for higher value-added products,” she added.
SLGJA, the key private sector association for the development and promotion of gems and jewellery industry, also places high priority on developing the skills of jewellery designers in the country.
“A long term approach to teaching design skills is perhaps the most prudent way to address this need. This objective perhaps is best achieved by attracting young people with a fresh mindset and the ability to apply themselves unconventionally, in to the industry,” said Sellakumar Kandasamy, Vice Chairman - Jewellery Segment, SLGJA .
The new diploma programme will run for total of 15 months including three months compulsory industry internship where the students will be provided an opportunity to work in the jewellery manufacturing units in order to gain practical exposure to the industry.
As this is the first endeavour of this nature and given the importance of retaining the designers in the sector, the EDB and SLGJA have selected five students on the basis of merit and their commitment to work in the jewellery industry for a minimum period of two years.