Training to Thrive: Mastercard Foundation, DTI impacts 1000 Ghanaian youth with work-ready skills

Ghana has long faced the problem of high youth unemployment, according to Professor Alex Doudu, Director General of the Ghana Standards Authority.

He noted that about 350,000 graduates enter the job market annually, yet there are no available jobs for many as training in the country has focused more on theory than practical skills.

To address this problem, the Mastercard Foundation partnered with the Design and Technology Institute (DTI) to train 1,000 Ghanaian youth in work-ready skills through the "Transforming Youth TVET Livelihoods for Sustainable Jobs" program from 2020 to 2023.

The goal of the three-year partnership was to boost access to quality, employment-focused technical and vocational education and training (TVET) for underserved groups such as women and those from low-income backgrounds.

In a video sighted by ModernGhana News, some participants spoke about how the training impacted their lives.

Haki Asah, a participant from Kulpong in the Upper West region, said he "learnt welding and fabrication, entrepreneurship, digital design" at DTI, which enabled him to create a groundnut separator machine to assist farmers in his community.

“Northerners, we do a lot of farming and one of the most dominant food crops we farm is groundnut. But when it is time for harvesting, how to separate the pods from the leaves becomes a challenge,” he noted of the problem he solved.

On her part, Matilda Adu Adjei from Kumasi, who had a degree in Land Economy from the KNUST, said the 18-month hands-on training in areas like welding helped her get a job as a welder at the Kejetia Phase II Market Project in Kumasi.

“The most important thing is the soft skills we learnt, those I hold very dear. I was working at the Kejetia Phase II Market Project. I was a welder there,” said Miss Adu Adjei.

A native of Mmaanpehia in the Greater Accra Region, Ismael Lamptey said he gained metalworking skills through DTI and now works as a freelance construction manager, assisting artisans due to the technical knowledge gained.

“The programme at DTi has had a positive impact on my life,” acknowledged the participant.

From Spintex, a suburb of Ghana’s capital Accra, Farida Mohammed has now gained the needed expertise to pursue her passion in 3D design.

She said DTI helped boost her self-confidence and communication skills through programs like the design incubator.

She now works with an organization where she designed a charging station through skills gained at DTI.

Recounting her outfit’s partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, DTI Founder and President Constance Swaniker said many beneficiaries of the initiative are gaining sustainable employment.