<\/p>\n
By Stanley Senya<\/p>\n
Accra,\u00a0Dec. 22,\u00a0GNA \u2013\u00a0Ms Constance Elizabeth Swaniker, the Founder and CEO of the Design and Technology Institute (DTI)\u00a0has\u00a0urged students to develop a growth mindset and the right attitude to succeed in the workplace.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTake charge of your own personal and professional development, because DTI has provided you with opportunities to learn and grow; it is up to you to seize these opportunities to grow,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Ms Swaniker was speaking at the end of\u00a0an eight-week summer internship training programme for 282 students from nine tertiary institutions.<\/p>\n
The internship was\u00a0to provide\u00a0them\u00a0\u00a0with industry experience relevant to their transition into the workforce.<\/p>\n
It is a hands-on learning experience built around two core areas: soft skills training (work readiness and transition to work skills) and hard skills training.<\/p>\n
The training forms part of a three-year partnership with the Mastercard Foundation under the Young Africa Works initiative to provide work-related opportunities to young people, particularly women and disadvantaged youth.<\/p>\n
Students went on industrial field trips to learn about industry operations first-hand, interacted with seasoned industry leaders, and attempted to identify industry problems.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They worked in groups to develop creative solutions to the identified problems, all while honing their interpersonal and teamwork skills.<\/p>\n
Mr Mubarik Ahmed, DTI\u2019s Industry\u00a0and\u00a0Workplace Coordinator, commended\u00a0the students for completing the\u00a0Programme and emphasized the importance for the students to have the right attitude and mindset to enter the workforce in his opening remarks.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is worth noting that many employers consider candidates\u2019 attitude and mindset before hiring them,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He said as an institution that\u00a0championed\u00a0internship training opportunities for Universities and Technical institutions to accelerate growth and development,\u00a0they\u00a0have provided\u00a0the students\u00a0with the right tools and resources, both soft and hard skills, to set\u00a0them\u00a0apart in the job market.<\/p>\n
He\u00a0commended\u00a0the over 30 industry partners,\u00a0who made the programme a success.<\/p>\n
Mr Philip Opare,\u00a0African Concrete Product Limited\u2019s Operations Manager,\u00a0also praised\u00a0Management of\u00a0DTI for the\u00a0initiative to provide\u00a0internship programme to support\u00a0the\u00a0students.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe students posted to our company were top notch. This was evident in how they approached work, their\u00a0colleagues,\u00a0and their output for the past six weeks,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Mr\u00a0Moses\u00a0Laah, Factory Manager at Sixteen47 Ghana\u00a0said\u00a0the internship programme\u00a0was\u00a0relevant because it provided\u00a0students with the practical knowledge that industry\u00a0required, and they were recruitable\u00a0and employable after the programme.<\/p>\n
Ms Selina Amoah, a Civil Engineering student at KNUST said\u00a0the soft skills training was instrumental for her to interact seamlessly with people \u201cthe soft skills training was educational, insightful, and eye-opening because I was exposed to precision quality and strategy development.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said during\u00a0her\u00a0hard skills training at Africa Concrete Products, it helped\u00a0her\u00a0to assist customers in selecting the right product for their project.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mr\u00a0Joshua Akoto, a KNUST Communication Design student\u00a0said the internship provided\u00a0him\u00a0with industry experience during\u00a0her six-\u00a0week of hard skills training.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He said it gave\u00a0him\u00a0access to information and equipment that\u00a0he\u00a0would\u00a0not have had on\u00a0campus, and\u00a0helped\u00a0him to\u00a0apply, evaluate, test, and integrate academic knowledge and theoretical concepts in the workplace.<\/p>\n
A total of 282 students comprising 177 males and 105 females from the University of Ghana, KNUST, AAMUSTED, Ho Technical University, Takoradi Technical University, Accra Technical University, University of Mines and Technology, UPSA and Kumasi Technical University benefited from the programme.<\/p>\n
KNUST students participated\u00a0in this year\u2019s programme as part of an MOU signed between\u00a0the University\u00a0and\u00a0Management of\u00a0DTI earlier in the year to collaborate in several areas including internship programmes and research.<\/p>\n
The interns were awarded certificates of completion for their participation in the training programme.<\/p>\n
GNA<\/p>\n