EU injects €250,000 into Ghana’s TVET digital labs to boost skills training

The European Union (EU) has invested €394,185.00 into Ghana’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector to help close the country’s widening digital skills gap.

Of the total amount, €250,000 went directly to Ghanaian partner institutions under the Erasmus+ Capacity Building programme, implemented through the DigiMarkt Project, which concluded with a Final Conference at the University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development (USTED) in Kumasi.

Local Project Coordinator, Prof. Yarhands Dissou Arthur outlined how the Ghanaian allocation was utilized. He said the funds were used to establish three state‑of‑the‑art digital laboratories at USTED, Cape Coast Technical University (CCTU) and Bolgatanga Technical University (BTU).

Each lab is equipped with 25 computers and specialized tools for e‑commerce, content creation and digital analytics. All facilities are fully operational and have already hosted multiple training sessions.

The project also supported extensive international capacity building for Ghanaian lecturers. In 2025 alone, 63 lecturers benefited from training opportunities — 20 in Slovakia, 21 in Germany in June, and 22 in Germany in October. An additional 7 representatives attended the project’s kick‑off meeting in Germany.

On the student front, 450 final‑year students from the three universities received training between January and June 2026. The six‑month programme covered digital marketing, e‑commerce, artificial intelligence, data analytics and branding.

Prof. Arthur further revealed that the project facilitated 54 Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with industry partners to create internship and employment pathways. Discussions are also underway with German partners to secure remote jobs in data analytics and cybersecurity for high‑performing Ghanaian trainees.

The DigiMarkt Project (No. 101182663) brought together Steinbeis and Int@E from Germany, the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, and the three Ghanaian technical universities.

Prof. Arthur expressed gratitude to the EU for its support and urged the beneficiary institutions to maintain the laboratories to ensure long‑term value.

The Final Conference was held under the theme: “Transforming the Digital Future of TVET in Ghana: The Role of the DigiMarkt Project.”