UCN forge links with Ethiopia

Ethiopian Ambassador Fisseha Adugna met with the British School of Leather Technology in November to assess opportunities for a partnership in teaching the skills of leather manufacture to Ethiopians. Accompanying him was the embassy's head of trade and investments Mesfin Gebre Mariam. As Ethiopia's second largest external income earner, leather production plays a pivotal role in the country's economy. Being the world's largest producers of hairsheep, the source of the most valuable and highest quality leather available, Ethiopia requires the infrastructure to add value to the raw material through processing rather than simply exporting it. Mike Redwood, visiting professor in business development in leather at University College Northampton, was instrumental in arranging the visit and said: 'The leather industry is very labour intensive and consequently there are huge opportunities for creating employment in Ethiopia by building the capability for processing leather. A collaboration between University College Northampton and the Institute of Ethiopia was discussed to help Ethiopia train leather technologists at all levels from undergraduate to postgraduate. During the visit, the Ambassador was given a tour of the Leathersellers Centre, which was built by the Worshipful Company of Leathersellers and houses facilities for leather testing, finishing and quality evaluation under laboratory conditions.