More than 200 young Ghanaians who completed a six-month technical training programme in Kumasi walked out of their graduation ceremony last week with job offers already in hand, in a demonstration of what structured, industry-linked skills development can achieve for the country’s swelling pool of unemployed youth.
The Design and Technology Institute (DTI), in partnership with the Kumasi Technical Institute (KTI) and its Precision Quality Internship (PQI) sub-implementing partner Accents and Art, hosted the 2026 DTI Jobs and Opportunities Fair at the KTI campus on Wednesday, February 12, 2026. The event ran under the theme “Empowering the Next Generation through Precision, Quality, Innovation and Local Industry for Sustainable Careers.”
A total of 228 young people graduated from the six-month Precision Quality Internship Programme, with DTI announcing that 211 job opportunities had already been secured across various trades. An additional 40 graduates received startup kits to support microenterprise creation, while five others will advance into the DTI Innovation and Incubation Hub for further mentorship and business development support.
Valedictorian Felix Owusu captured the mood of his cohort directly. “This programme has not just prepared me for the industry but has shaped my understanding of the business world with the soft skills aspect,” he said.
The graduation flowed into a full-scale jobs fair, with more than 26 companies setting up exhibition booths on the KTI lawn. More than 1,000 young people attended and engaged with exhibitors spanning manufacturing, engineering, construction, creative arts, information and communications technology (ICT), automotive services, energy, and technical trades. Career support on the day included business clinics run by Fidelity Bank, curriculum vitae clinics facilitated by Jobberman Ghana, and on-the-spot interview sessions with employers offering jobs, internships, and apprenticeships.
Bernice Gavor, General Manager of Accents and Art, pointed to a structural gap that the programme is designed to close. “Kumasi is a major economic hub,” she said. “Yet many skilled young people remain disconnected from these opportunities,” adding that migration to Accra is often the result of poor local industry linkages rather than a genuine absence of opportunity in the Ashanti Region.
The PQI programme focuses on youth classified as Not in Employment, Education or Training, a population estimated at 1.9 million across Ghana. It provides participants with industry-relevant technical skills and soft skills including entrepreneurship, communication, leadership, and financial literacy, with the Mastercard Foundation funding making it entirely free for eligible participants aged 18 to 35.
DTI has set a target of training 3,250 interns in 2026 as part of a broader three-year plan to reach 6,000 young Ghanaians across seven centres in Greater Accra, Tamale, Ho, and Kumasi. Enrollment for the next cohort at KTI is currently open at pqi.dtiafrica.com.
