The president of Thai Footwear Association (TFA), Mr. Chanin Jitkomut receives recognition for his work to empower footwear industry in Thailand. Ministry of Commerce, Department of Business Development (DBD) and Board of Trade of Thailand have been awarded a Certificate of Executive of Trade and Commerce Institute Management at the Department of Business Development (DBD) in Nonthaburi Province on Monday of 5th August 2013 for the works are carrying out in Thai footwear industry. Offering workshops to shoemakers and young designers, developed and coordinated by Ministry of Commerce, TFA have had a significant impact in raising awareness about topics clustering from Thai footwear SMEs. Mr. Boonlert Paovisit, the vice president of TFA, said: "TFA members have shown real dedication and commitment to a range of partnership initiatives, up skilling and empowering themselves, and becoming invaluable pillars of support in the Thai footwear industry. "By engaging with a series of workshops, learning new skills and demonstrating a proactive approach to supplier supports, member reps have managed to engage with hard to reach members of the industry.   Their ability to provide timely advice and support to many footwear factories has produced genuine, positive impacts." Mr. Hubert Chong, the grand master of footwear design instructor said: "It is fantastic to see members of the footwear industry coming together and working on ways to help other friends.