The Design & Technology Institute (DTI) brought together industry, academia and public sector actors to deepen collaboration and jointly address the TVET employability challenge.

The workshop aimed to bridge the gap between academic knowledge and practical industry needs, which is essential for preparing youth for the labour market. Additionally, exploring effective collaboration between academia and industry is crucial for developing a skilled workforce that meets current technological and socio-economic demands.

Ms. Constance Swaniker, the Founder and President of DTI, reiterated that the skills mismatch can be attributed to several factors, including outdated curricula, instructors lacking competency-based training delivery skills, poorly equipped labs, and limited engagement between academic institutions and employers.

Countries like China and India have made progress in bridging this gap through policy-led efforts and targeted programmes. Initiatives such as China’s “Double First Class” and India’s SPARC, IMPRINT, and UAY have fostered stronger links between academic institutions and industry, leading to innovation hubs, research collaborations, and co-creating technologies and solutions.

The workshop identified key challenges behind the skills mismatch in TVET, explored strategies and incentives to enhance industry engagement in training, curriculum development, and apprenticeships, shared successful collaboration models from Ghana and internationally, including DTI’s approach, and co-created actionable policy recommendations and partnership frameworks.

The roundtable event centred on the theme “Connecting Skillsets for the Employability of Students in TVET.” Insights from the workshop will inform ongoing workforce development strategies led by NDPC and public institutions, including the Ministry of Labour, Jobs & Employment and the Ministry of Youth Development and Empowerment.

Other collaborations have resulted in the creation of a National Precision Quality Policy Framework, aimed at elevating national standards in production and manufacturing.