On-The-Job Training
There is no comprehensive or specific French diploma to work in the tanning industry, with the notable exception of the leather engineering degree.
New recruits receive on-the-job training at their workstations, accompanied by a mentor who provides them with core technical skills.
The CTC delivers most continuing education either in-house or at its technical facility in Lyon.
Regarding vocational qualifications, The Federation of French Tanners (FFTM), being the leading voice in the industry, worked with the CPNE (the national body responsible for employment and professional training) in the sector to design and deliver professional qualification certificates (PQC). These certificates validate the mastery of job-specific, domain skills and are widely recognized throughout the industry.
The PQCs are registered under the National Directory of Professional Certifications (RNCP), the body which officially recognizes professional qualifications in France.
The PQC aims to:
- Professionalize employees via training modules that provide both a global overview of the process and upskilling through specialization.
- Facilitate recruitment for individuals with basic technical training program backgrounds.
Sector-led vocational training programs
The FFTM has put into place a PQC for Hide and Skin Processing Operator, which includes specializations in ‘crusting’ and ‘finishing,’ and a PQC for Formulator and Color Technician (High School level), which includes specializations in ‘dyeing’ and ‘finishing,’ in partnership with the CTC and ITECH.
The CTC is responsible for delivering both theoretical and practical training and for setting up assessment criteria.
Hide and Skin Processing Operator (PQC)
The hide and skin processing operator is involved in the transformation and finishing of batch-produced animal leather (bovine, ovine, caprine, equine, porcine, or exotic) intended for leather goods, footwear, casings, saddlery, clothing, and accessories.
This PQC offers a comprehensive overview of all leather processing steps, while adhering to the official procedures and QHSE (Quality, Health, Safety, and Environment) standards.
It equips both new recruits and existing staff with the core know-how to understand the key steps in converting raw hides into high-quality leather, bound for leather goods, footwear, casings, saddlery, apparel, and accessories.
Explore Your Future, two Specialty Options:
crusting
mastering the tanning process steps, each contributing to the final characteristics that give leather its unique qualities (texture, suppleness, pliability, strength, stability), and the characteristics required for its intended uses
finishing
mastering the processes that give leather its visual aesthetics; color, texture, and finish — while conditioning and protecting it to ensure leather’s long-term durability
Upon successful completion of this program, and all skill modules, the employee will be able to operate different machinery and equipment for the required processes and to master the settings and guidelines for basic maintenance operations.
From the 1st student intake in 2011 to the 14th in 2024, nearly 150 employees with varying professional/educational roadmaps have undergone training, a whole mix of backgrounds ranging from seasoned tanning sector professionals to newcomers, self-directed learners to master’s level.
This program is designed to transmit the long-term preservation of top strategic skills and savoir-faire craftmanship in an industry with significant prospects on the horizon in the luxury sector and internationally.
This certification is open to individuals with disabilities and to Recognition of Prior Learning candidates (VAE).
Leather Colorist / Dye Formulator (PQC)
(pending registration with the RNCP - French National Directory of Professional Certifications)
An expert in both color and material, the leather tannery colorist dye formulator develops and mixes dye formulations to achieve specified colors during hide to leather processing.
This Professional Qualification Certificate enables employees to build and sharpen their expertise in leather dyeing techniques and to gain insight into process breakthroughs.
Upon completion of this program, the employee will master the color formulation process and set the critical parameters involved in color formulation and quality control for leather dyeing and finishing.
The program provides the employee with hands-on experience in color measurement and assessment tools, including light booths, spectrocolorimeters and gloss meters.
Explore Your Future, two Specialty Options:
dyeing
employees learn new skills through job enrichment involving advanced dyeing techniques and materials (including dye categories and classes, and dyeing auxiliaries …), stay updated with industry trends and breakthroughs in dyeing technology
finishing
to gain a better understanding of the role of products and their usages (dyes, pigments, resins – including the concept of Pigment Volume Concentration PVC)
Since the first student intake in 2022, nearly twenty employees from diverse backgrounds — in terms of age, experience, and educational level — have completed this training program with great enthusiasm. Participants have included graduates from other fields, individuals with no prior experience, as well as seasoned professionals with many years of industry experience under the belt.
This Professional Qualification Certificate delivers measurable benefits to employers in the industry seeking increasingly skilled and competent employees.
This certification is open to individuals with disabilities and to Recognition of Prior Learning candidates (VAE).
New Professional Qualification Certificates: Coming Soon
To meet the demand for qualified professionals in an industry where job shortages run rampant, new educational components are in the works, notably CQPIs (a professional qualification certificate jointly issued by industry and labor representatives): CQPI Team Leader and CQPI Industrial Equipment Operator.
Learn from the best in the field
ITECH
ITECH Lyon is the only engineering school in the world to preserve the longstanding legacy of 19th‑century textile, leather, and chemistry schools founded in Lyon by industry professionals. Established in 1988, born from the merger of two historic higher‑education institutions and founded by industry leaders:
- • Lyon Higher School of Textile Industries founded in 1840
- • Founded in 1899, the French School of Tannery began as a branch of the Institute of Industrial Chemistry at the University of Lyon, focusing on leather and later plastics in collaboration with CNAM. In 1969, it added a department for Paints, Inks, and Adhesives, and in 1983 it became the Higher School of Leather and Paints, Inks, and Adhesives.
ITECH brings together specializations in leather, textiles, plastics, and formulation chemistry (paints, inks, adhesives, and cosmetics), with polymer science at the core of its curriculum.
Video (French spoken) : ITECH Academic Programs
Master of Engineering in Applied Chemistry (Leather Technology)
ITECH Lyon is the only institute in the world to train engineers in the fine art of leather tanning, and its end uses: (footwear, leather goods).
ITECH offers a comprehensive educational program covering the transformation of the material (from waste hides to noble material) right up to its end use (footwear and leather goods). ITECH engineers master all leather processing steps, from chemical aspects to industrial processes.
Hands-on work is predominant, and many qualities are required: active observation skills, tactile sensitivity, a keen eye, being practical, rigor, and pronounced aesthetic judgment.
Every year, our tannery member businesses welcome these students for their internships or as apprentices.
Leather engineers are highly sought after by companies.
Graduates from this specialization primarily hold positions in R&D (52%), with smaller percentages in production/operations (16%) or quality control/methods (15%), mainly within the luxury sector (tanneries, or textiles).
Formulator and Color Technician
ITECH also offers a bachelor’s degree in Color Technician Formulator, specializing in leather, to train experts in the formulation of colored products for the leather sector (alongside specialties in cosmetics, paints, inks, and adhesives).
The Color Technician formulator is involved in product design, product quality control, and the implementation of a quality management system.
In addition to core courses and colorimetry modules, the student receives specialized training in skin biology, the composition of hides and skins, leather, river-tanning, crusting, leather finishing, color and dyeing operations, wet processes, and finishing… culminating in a research project.
The program includes extensive hands-on training via a work-study program (as apprentice or student completing an internship).
Our member companies are always looking for skilled Formulators and Color Technicians to work in R&D labs, quality control, and production.
Video (CNC's Web serie, French spoken) : Focus on ITECH's Leather Engineering program
ITECH Lyon: Training Course Catalogue: www.itech.fr
CTC (Centre Technique du Cuir)
Founded in 1899 as a raw hide research center, over the years, the CTC has gradually evolved into a premier hub of specialized expertise for French manufacturers of leather, footwear, leather goods, gloves and personal protective equipment.
Born in 2008 through a merger between a Professional Economic Development Committee, an Industrial Technical Centre and the leather industry's style bureau, the CTC is the natural point of support for the entire French and international fashion, luxury goods, leather, footwear, leather goods and glove industries, and a major player in R&D for companies in the field.
Among its core missions, the CTC offers an extensive portfolio of training programs dedicated to every aspect of leather processing — from its manufacturing and technical understanding to its many fields of application.
As a result, everyone from production operators to executives and sales professionals can benefit from a rich catalogue of continuing education programs. These programs run from one-day workshops to multi-week training modules, covering topics such as the hide to leather manufacturing processes, leather’s characteristics, beamhouse and tanning operations, and the grading and selection of raw hides.
Video (French spoken): CTC Leather Industry Training Courses
At the request of The Federation of French Tanners, ITECH partnered with the CTC to launch the “Leather footwear and goods” engineering specialization. Central to the program is a state-of-the-art leather facility — a technical hub of machines and tools enabling students to gain practical, hands-on experience in leather craftsmanship.