Over 800 Small-Medium Enterprises (SMEs) from the Ashanti region have benefited from a PrecisionQuality™ (PQ) edutainment training programme organised by the Design & Technology Institute (DTI).
The drama-cum-educational piece titled Joe Sharp mirrors the lives, work, successes and failures of master crafts persons, their relationship with customers and how they can enhance it through the application of PQ™ principles.
Through the drama series, DTI expects to improve the work skills and practices of 5,000 master crafts persons and 1,000 SMEs. The training forms part of DTI’s strategy to work with key stakeholders to enable three (3) million young people, particularly women, to access dignified and fulfilling work opportunities by 2030 using a multiplier approach.
The current drama series-based training is under the ‘Transforming youth TVET livelihood for sustainable jobs’ project in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation’s ‘Young Africa Work (YAW) Strategy’, which seeks to create 40,000 direct and indirect work opportunities for the youth, especially young women, through TVET in Ghana.
In his welcome address, Mr Kwame Oppong-Peprah, Project Coordinator of DTI, said the programme is a unique way of training the informal sector players who have immense skills and potential but require refinement to churn out quality products and services.
“Ghanaian businesses can only thrive and grow when goods and services produced meet internationally accepted quality standards, which is guaranteed by PQ™,” he added.
With a highly trained team of master trainers focused on training, DTI has made huge strides towards creating an enabling environment that supports quality production – one business at a time.
DTI has been at the forefront of encouraging businesses over the past two years, to adopt PQ™ in order to address the quality gap among artisans and SMEs and standardize their processes in producing goods and services in Ghana.
Mr Eric Boakye Yiadom, Chairman of the Ashanti Regional branch of the Ghana National Tailors and Dressmakers Associated reiterated the commitment of his association to quality standards “what they’re teaching us today, we will work on it, so we can secure big contracts and projects.”
“The training has been very helpful. We have been educated on how to attract and retain customers,” said the President of the Ashanti region hairdresser’s association, Abigail Quansah.
She urged DTI to organize the training session for their members quarterly to enhance their skills and knowledge to improve their livelihoods.
Topics covered in the drama included mindset change, creating a mission and vision, registering your business, and creating business accounts.