The Ministry of Youth Development and Empowerment (MYDE) has signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Design and Technology Institute (DTI) to strengthen industry-led skills development and prepare young Ghanaians for the demands of the modern labor market.
The agreement, signed on Tuesday, August 4, 2026 by the Minister for Youth Development and Empowerment, George Opare Addo and the President of DTI, Ms. Constance Elizabeth Swaniker, aim to build an industry-ready workforce that will support Ghana’s industrialisation and economic transformation.
The partnership seeks to bridge the gap between education and employment by expanding access to practical skills training, entrepreneurship programmes, structured internships, workplace readiness initiatives, and digital skills development.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Opare Addo described the collaboration as a strategic investment in Ghana’s future, noting that the country’s youthful population remains its greatest asset.
He stressed that equipping young people with relevant skills, values, and opportunities is essential for sustainable national development.
The Minister acknowledged that many young Ghanaians continue to face challenges such as limited employment opportunities, inadequate access to information, skills mismatch, weak support for technology and start-ups, and youth health concerns.
He said these issues require stronger collaboration between government and institutions with proven expertise in innovation and skills development.
Under the agreement, the Ministry will provide policy direction and coordinate implementation through its national youth development platforms, while DTI will contribute its expertise in competency-based training, curriculum development, workforce preparation, and industry engagement.
A major feature of the collaboration is the adoption of DTI’s Precision Quality™ framework, which promotes professionalism, productivity, workplace discipline, quality consciousness, and safety. The framework is expected to produce graduates who are technically competent and possess the work ethic and professional standards required by employers.
Beyond technical training, the programme will also strengthen participants’ communication, teamwork, leadership, critical thinking, customer service, emotional intelligence and financial literacy.
It will further provide mentorship, coaching, business incubation, and entrepreneurship support to encourage more young people to establish their own businesses.
The Minister for Youth Development and Empowerment noted that the initiative would complement existing government youth programmes by expanding opportunities and promoting collaboration, instead of duplicating ongoing interventions.
To ensure the long-term success of the initiative, MYDE and DTI will jointly mobilise resources from government, development partners, the private sector and international organisations to expand youth-focused skills and employment programmes across the country.
The Minister expressed confidence that the partnership would deliver practical and measurable outcomes by producing a skilled, innovative and resilient workforce capable of driving Ghana’s long-term socio-economic development.
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