Pakistan Gems and Jewellery Development Company (PGJDC) has organised a 6-week training programme on "Jewellery Designing" for the first time in the country. The training course has been started at Fatima Jinnah Women University, (FJWU), Rawalpindi, in which around 22 women are participating.
This jewellery designing course has exclusively been developed for female who are already in jewellery business or want to start their personal ventures, says official of PGJDC. The participants of training belong to various segments including trade, designers, entrepreneurs, exporters and fine arts students while 2 students from Balochistan are also taking part in this training.
The course is being conducted by Nasira Asim, an eminent Jewellery designer from Gemological Institute of America (GIA). The training programme will cover various aspects of Jewellery designing including surfaces, metals, gemstones, shapes, shading, textures, painting, cabochon, setting, pave, motif, symbolism, fashion and wedding/casual wear, inspirations and many others.
It will also cover individual as well as group projects and assignments followed by Question and Answer session and periodical examinations. Unawareness of latest technology, lack of training and international quality standards is the real impediment in the growth of gems and jewellery sector in Pakistan and the international market demands unique, innovative and well calibrated designs, the official added.
"The Jewellery designing is one of the main areas where Pakistan is still lacking and there is huge gap between designs of Pakistani products and the products available in international markets," he observed.
Keeping in view the market demand PGJDC under Ministry of Industries, Production and Special Initiatives (MoIP&SI) is undertaking various initiatives to cater the needs of the Gems and Jewellery industry with regards to processes, methods, marketing, branding, adding value and above all capacity building of human resources.
Pakistan has great potential in the gems and Jewellery sector because of the availability of natural resources of precious and semi-precious gemstones, skilled craftsmen, strong domestic market demand and low cost of labour.
The PGJDC focused efforts to increase the export of gems and Jewellery, conducting market and industry surveys, develop Pakistan brand for international recognition, improving the marketing skills by adding knowledge and to establish Pakistani products in world market.