“Take 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,” she added.

Ms Swaniker was speaking at the end of an eight-week summer internship training programme for 282 students from nine tertiary institutions.

The internship was to provide them with industry experience relevant to their transition into the workforce.

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.

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.

Students went on industrial field trips to learn about industry operations first-hand, interacted with seasoned industry leaders, and attempted to identify industry problems.

They worked in groups to develop creative solutions to the identified problems, all while honing their interpersonal and teamwork skills.

Mr Mubarik Ahmed, DTI’s Industry and Workplace Coordinator, commended the students for completing the Programme and emphasized the importance for the students to have the right attitude and mindset to enter the workforce in his opening remarks.

“It is worth noting that many employers consider candidates’ attitude and mindset before hiring them,” he said.

He said as an institution that championed internship training opportunities for Universities and Technical institutions to accelerate growth and development, they have provided the students with the right tools and resources, both soft and hard skills, to set them apart in the job market.

He commended the over 30 industry partners, who made the programme a success.

Mr Philip Opare, African Concrete Product Limited’s Operations Manager, also praised Management of DTI for the initiative to provide internship programme to support the students.

“The students posted to our company were top notch. This was evident in how they approached work, their colleagues, and their output for the past six weeks,” he added.

Mr Moses Laah, Factory Manager at Sixteen47 Ghana said the internship programme was relevant because it provided students with the practical knowledge that industry required, and they were recruitable and employable after the programme.

Ms Selina Amoah, a Civil Engineering student at KNUST said the soft skills training was instrumental for her to interact seamlessly with people “the soft skills training was educational, insightful, and eye-opening because I was exposed to precision quality and strategy development.”

She said during her hard skills training at Africa Concrete Products, it helped her to assist customers in selecting the right product for their project.

Mr Joshua Akoto, a KNUST Communication Design student said the internship provided him with industry experience during her six- week of hard skills training.

He said it gave him access to information and equipment that he would not have had on campus, and helped him to apply, evaluate, test, and integrate academic knowledge and theoretical concepts in the workplace.

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.

KNUST students participated in this year’s programme as part of an MOU signed between the University and Management of DTI earlier in the year to collaborate in several areas including internship programmes and research.

The interns were awarded certificates of completion for their participation in the training programme.