# Competences — footwear product development manager

Source: ESCO v1.2.1 occupation-skill relations (http://data.europa.eu/esco/occupation/ef6020f9-11b4-4d1a-96e0-903331594121).

## Essential

- **apply development process to footwear design** (skill/competence)
- **apply fashion trends to footwear and leather goods** (skill/competence)
- **communicate commercial and technical issues in foreign languages** (skill/competence)
- **create patterns for footwear** (skill/competence)
- **create solutions to problems** (skill/competence)
- **develop footwear and leather goods marketing plans** (skill/competence)
- **develop footwear collection** (skill/competence)
- **distinguish accessories** (skill/competence)
- **distinguish fabrics** (skill/competence)
- **footwear and leather goods marketing planning** (knowledge)
- **footwear components** (knowledge)
- **footwear creation process** (knowledge)
- **footwear manufacturing technology** (knowledge)
- **footwear materials** (knowledge)
- **footwear quality** (knowledge)
- **health and safety in the workplace** (knowledge)
- **implement footwear marketing plan** (skill/competence)
- **innovate in footwear and leather goods industry** (skill/competence)
- **make technical drawings of fashion pieces** (skill/competence)
- **perform market research in footwear** (skill/competence)
- **perform pattern grading** (skill/competence)
- **plan supply chain logistics for footwear and leather goods** (skill/competence)
- **prepare footwear samples** (skill/competence)
- **reduce environmental impact of footwear manufacturing** (skill/competence)
- **use communication techniques** (skill/competence)
- **use IT tools** (skill/competence)
- **work in textile manufacturing teams** (skill/competence)

## Optional

- CAD for footwear (knowledge)
- create 3D CAD footwear prototypes (skill/competence)
- create technical sketches for footwear (skill/competence)
- ergonomics in footwear and leather goods design (knowledge)
- manage footwear quality systems (skill/competence)
- operate 2D CAD for footwear (skill/competence)
- use CAD for heels (skill/competence)
- use CAD for lasts (skill/competence)
- use CAD for soles (skill/competence)

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## Market evidence (job-ad analysis, 8 ads, as of 2026-07-12)

Share of analyzed job ads mentioning the item (threshold ≥ 20 %). Source: JSearch/Adzuna APIs.

### Hard skills

- footwear development — **38 %**
- project management — **38 %**
- vendor management — **38 %**
- quality control — **25 %**
- team leadership — **25 %**
- technical documentation — **25 %**
- pattern engineering — **25 %**
- product development — **25 %**
- market research — **25 %**
- pre-production management — **12 %**
- problem solving — **12 %**
- material selection — **12 %**
- materials engineering — **12 %**
- materials research — **12 %**
- performance measurement — **12 %**
- product strategy — **12 %**
- production management — **12 %**
- prototype development — **12 %**
- sample development — **12 %**
- sample management — **12 %**
- footwear product development — **12 %**
- lifecycle management — **12 %**
- manufacturing process optimization — **12 %**
- manufacturing processes — **12 %**
- market analysis — **12 %**
- data analysis — **12 %**
- competitive analysis — **12 %**
- construction methods evaluation — **12 %**
- construction troubleshooting — **12 %**
- cost engineering — **12 %**
- cost negotiation — **12 %**
- costing — **12 %**
- costing analysis — **12 %**
- technical blueprint evaluation — **12 %**
- sourcing strategy — **12 %**
- footwear design — **12 %**
- strategic direction — **12 %**
- trend forecasting — **12 %**
- vendor relationship management — **12 %**

### Methods

- continuous improvement — **25 %**
- category best practices — **12 %**
- cross-functional team collaboration — **12 %**
- wear-testing — **12 %**
- seasonal calendar planning — **12 %**
- standardization — **12 %**

### Responsibilities

- team mentoring — **38 %**
- timeline management — **25 %**
- team leadership — **25 %**
- documentation maintenance — **25 %**
- meeting facilitation — **25 %**
- material sourcing — **12 %**
- material strategy development — **12 %**
- material verification — **12 %**
- process checkpoint adherence — **12 %**
- product commercialization — **12 %**
- material approval management — **12 %**
- milestone tracking — **12 %**
- partnership management — **12 %**
- sampling evaluation — **12 %**
- sampling management — **12 %**
- seasonal calendar management — **12 %**
- prototype management — **12 %**
- quality assurance — **12 %**
- production oversight — **12 %**
- product tracking — **12 %**
- product development — **12 %**
- product performance achievement — **12 %**
- event management — **12 %**
- factory communication — **12 %**
- factory partner collaboration — **12 %**
- design execution — **12 %**
- development milestone leadership — **12 %**
- lifecycle management — **12 %**
- footwear product development — **12 %**
- forecast aggregation — **12 %**
- kpi tracking — **12 %**
- licensing management — **12 %**
- cross-functional communication — **12 %**
- compliance ensuring — **12 %**
- concept driving — **12 %**
- concept ideation — **12 %**
- allocation review — **12 %**
- brand vetting — **12 %**
- calendar establishment — **12 %**
- calendar maintenance — **12 %**
- trend curation — **12 %**
- relationship management — **12 %**
- strategy oversight — **12 %**
- style bom creation — **12 %**
- style setup management — **12 %**
- vendor collaboration — **12 %**
- vendor liaison — **12 %**
- vendor matrix alignment — **12 %**

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