Accra: The Hotel, Catering and Tourism Training Institute (HOTCATT) is targeting at least 5,000 trainees and personnel annually from 2026 to strengthen skills in Ghana's hospitality and tourism sector. The target is part of efforts to improve service quality, expand industry-based training and enhance employment opportunities for young people in the sector.
According to Ghana News Agency, Madam Abla Dzifa Gomashie, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, disclosed this on Monday in Accra when she took her turn at the Government Accountability Series to account for the performance of the Ministry and its agencies. She said more than 4,000 trainees and professionals had been trained by HOTCATT between 2020 and 2026, following the relaunch of the institution.
Madam Gomashie highlighted that the institute had expanded Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET)-aligned programmes, industry-based training and internships across the country. In 2025 alone, dozens of trainees benefited from certificate courses, short courses and structured industrial attachments, contributing to improved service quality and youth employability in the hospitality and tourism sector.
She further mentioned that HOTCATT had been accredited by the Commission for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (CTVET) to offer proficiency and certificate programmes, with preparations underway for their rollout. Additionally, HOTCATT had launched partnership programmes with ABE Global, a UK-accredited training institution, to train Ghanaian professionals through professional certificate programmes for frontline staff and advanced diploma programmes for supervisors.
The institute is also preparing to sign Memoranda of Understanding with all technical universities in Ghana and key universities in the regions. The partnerships aim to enable the institutions to serve as regional training centres and bring skills development closer to communities through mobile training programmes.
Madam Gomashie emphasized that the initiatives are part of efforts to improve professionalism and service quality while creating employment opportunities for young people in the tourism and hospitality sector. On gender and social inclusion, she noted the Ministry's deliberate steps to promote gender equality and inclusion across sector programmes, supporting women-owned tourism enterprises, promoting gender-sensitive training and encouraging broader participation of persons with disabilities. The Ministry's workforce reflects its commitment to gender inclusion, with women accounting for a significant proportion of its staff.