Ministry of Youth Development and Empowerment (MYDE) and Design and Technology Institute Sign Strategic Public–Private Partnership to Accelerate Youth Skills Development, Employment and Global Workforce Readiness
Accra, 4 August 2026 – The Ministry of Youth Development and Empowerment (MYDE) and the Design and Technology Institute (DTI) have signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) establishing a Strategic Public–Private Partnership (PPP) to strengthen youth skills development, employment, entrepreneurship, and labour mobility in Ghana.
The partnership reflects the Government of Ghana's commitment to collaborating with the private sector to accelerate youth empowerment and build a globally competitive workforce capable of driving the country's socio-economic transformation.
The MoU provides a comprehensive framework for collaboration in areas including industry-aligned technical and vocational education and training (TVET), structured internship and workplace experience learning, employability and entrepreneurship development, labour mobility, youth inclusion, resource mobilisation, and systems strengthening.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Hon. George Opare Addo, Esq., Minister for Youth Development and Empowerment, underscored the importance of collaborative partnerships in achieving the Government's youth development agenda.
"The Ministry is committed to working collaboratively with all stakeholders to create sustainable opportunities for young people. Government alone cannot solve the youth employment challenge. Partnerships such as this demonstrate how the public and private sectors can work together to address socio-economic challenges, accelerate national development, and equip our young people with the competencies, values and character required to succeed in today's world."
The Minister noted that the partnership represents a practical model of how strategic Public–Private Partnerships can strengthen skills development systems while improving employment outcomes and expanding opportunities for Ghanaian youth.
Under the partnership, MYDE and DTI will collaborate to support national youth development initiatives through industry-driven training programmes, structured internship models, workplace experience learning, entrepreneurship support, employer engagement, and the development of pathways for both domestic and international employment opportunities.
Delivering her remarks, Ms. Constance Swaniker, Founder and President of the Design and Technology Institute, emphasised that DTI's approach to workforce development extends far beyond technical training.
"At DTI, we believe that true workforce readiness is built on both competence and character. We prepare young people not only with technical skills, but also with the values, ethics, responsibility, professionalism and behaviours that enable them to thrive in the workplace and contribute meaningfully to society."
Ms. Swaniker further highlighted DTI's Precision Quality™ (PQ) methodology, a proprietary mindset transformation framework that complements technical training by instilling quality consciousness, discipline, continuous improvement, teamwork, accountability, and customer-focused behaviours.
She noted that while technical skills remain essential, mindset and behaviour increasingly determine long-term employability and career success.
"The future global workforce will increasingly come from Africa. Our responsibility is therefore not simply to prepare young people for local jobs, but to prepare them for global opportunities through internationally benchmarked training, recognised certifications, and industry standards that make them competitive anywhere in the world."
Ms. Swaniker also emphasised that DTI's work extends beyond institutional training to strengthening the broader skills ecosystem.
"DTI works at the systems level, partnering with Government, industry, academia and development partners to strengthen Ghana's human capital ecosystem. By contributing to national policy, institutional capacity, quality systems, workforce development and industry partnerships, we are supporting Ghana's Human Capital Development Agenda and helping build the skilled workforce required for the country's long-term transformation."
The partnership is expected to support national priorities by strengthening links between skills development and labour market demand, expanding access to quality training, promoting entrepreneurship, improving transition-to-work outcomes, and positioning Ghanaian youth for dignified employment opportunities both within Ghana and internationally.
The MoU also provides a framework for the two institutions to jointly develop and implement programmes with Government, development partners, industry and other stakeholders, further strengthening Ghana's youth development ecosystem through coordinated public-private collaboration.
As Ghana continues to invest in its young people, the MYDE–DTI partnership demonstrates the growing importance of strategic collaboration between Government and the private sector in creating sustainable pathways to employment, productivity, innovation and inclusive economic growth.
About the Design & Technology Institute (DTI)
The Design and Technology Institute is a leading Ghanaian institution specialising in industry-aligned skills development, design thinking, and technology-enabled learning. DTI serves as the private sector lead in the Precision Quality framework and is a key strategic partner in the development of the Human Capital Development Strategy.
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