Accra, Nov. 20, GNA – Mr Bernard Kafui Sokpe, the Team lead and Head of Brand Strategy at Brandmeister, says the biggest ingredient for graduates to evolve in life is failure and setbacks.
He said setbacks would toughen them while failure would also teach them life lessons.
Mr Sokpe was speaking at the third graduation ceremony of DTI for the Class of 2021/2022.
About 110 learners graduated after pursuing an 18-month certificate programme in Precision Fabrication, Design Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
“I can also assure you that it is not easy to succeed out there and the skills you have acquired from the Design & Technology Institute (DTI) are needed to make the world a better place,” he added.
He said, “creativity with no purpose is like an uncontrolled flame and your skills will be of no use without proper application.”
Mr Sokpe, who is also the former Senior Partner Manager of Twitter, urged the graduates not to abandon their training rather they should merge both soft and hard skills to be able to evolve.
“In order to bolster your mindset to achieve success, my two A’s to succeed in the world of work are adaptability and accountability,” he added.
He called on them to brace themselves for the world out there, while also bracing themselves for the realities of life.
Miss Constance Elizabeth Swaniker, Founder and CEO of DTI, said from an initial cohort of 32 learners in 2019, they now have 227 learners.
She said in 2019, DTI offered only one course – Precision Welding and Fabrication but is currently, running three programmes namely: Precision Welding and Fabrication Design Innovation, and Entrepreneurship.
Miss Swaniker said DTI was the only institution in Ghana accredited by the Commission for TVET (CTVET) to offer National Certificate Levels one and two in Welding and Fabrication.
“In the next two to three months, we expect to receive National Certificate Levels one and two accreditations for the Design Innovation programme,” she said.
The DTI Founder said they intended to offer HNDs followed by BTech, MTech and DTech degrees eventually, expanding the level of training and certification along the CTVET curriculum framework.
She said the Institute was keenly focused on enhancing the occupational and job creation prospects of the youth as part of their partnership with AUDA-NEPAD through the skills initiative for Africa (SIFA).
Miss Swaniker said DTI had received 150,000 euros to develop an industry-driven entrepreneurship curriculum in collaboration with Reach for Change.
She said DTI had the vision to transform youth TVET livelihoods across West Africa and “we are championing the movement to change the poor perception around TVET.”
She said they believed that technical and vocational education and training held the key to unlocking the potential of young men and women by providing them with the necessary skills to unleash their abundant potential thereby creating jobs and improving livelihoods.
Miss Swaniker said the curriculum was developed based on industry experience and the faculty includes master craftsmen, industry practitioners as well as pure academics.
She said they were pursuing international accreditation with groups such as the Pearson’s Group and were collaborating with leading Universities across the world, including Colombia University and the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology, whom they expect in Ghana next week for collaborative work.
Source: Ghana News Agency
