Born on a factory floor.
Built for a continent.
DTI is not a conventional school. It is a social enterprise that trains for the work that actually exists, to standards the world actually recognises.
A dream forged in metal,
a mission built for Africa
In 2000, sculptor and entrepreneur Constance Elizabeth Swaniker founded Accents & Art, a precision metal fabrication company with a conviction: the gap between talented young people and skilled work could be closed on the factory floor itself.
By 2016 that conviction had become an institute, training learners beside working fabricators in Bubuashie, Accra. A year later it took the name it carries today: the Design & Technology Institute. What began beside the welding bays now sets the national standard for TVET.
Milestones that define us
- 2000
Foundation
Accents & Art is founded by Constance Elizabeth Swaniker, an award-winning precision fabrication company with a bridge-building vision between industry and academia.
- 2016
The institute is born
A training institute opens on the A&A factory floor in Bubuashie, Kaneshie, Accra, with a mission to transform youth TVET across ECOWAS.
- 2017
A new name
The school becomes the Design & Technology Institute. A movement begins.
- 2018
Accredited
Registered and accredited by CTVET as a Level 3 TVET provider in welding and fabrication.
- 2019
A campus of our own
The new campus opens in Mempeasem, East Legon, Accra.
- 2020
First graduates, landmark partnership
Thirty learners cross the first graduation stage, and the Mastercard Foundation partnership begins under Young Africa Works.
- 2021-22
Academic alliances
MoUs signed with Ho and Takoradi Technical Universities; the Precision Quality Centre of Excellence is established.
- 2023
Growing the network
KNUST and Kumasi Technical University join through new MoUs; Programme Advisory Committees launch.
- 2024
Partnership deepens
Mastercard Foundation Phase II is confirmed, accelerating access and impact at scale.
- 2025
A first for Africa
The AWS SENSE certified Welder Training and Testing Centre is commissioned, the first of its kind on the continent.
- 2026
Breaking ground at Berekuso
Work begins on an 11.29-acre multi-skills campus, envisioned as Ghana's national home for TVET excellence and a continental model for workforce development.
The Welder Training
& Testing Centre
Purpose-built and AWS SENSE accredited, the WTTC makes DTI the first institution in Africa to train and certify welders against this global benchmark. It serves learners, and it serves industry: upskilling working professionals and anchoring a regional hub for welding excellence.
Benchmarked training
Assessed against globally recognised safety and quality standards.
Industry upskilling
Certification and advancement for professionals already in the field.
Global employment
Credentials that open doors at home and abroad.
CTVET registered
Accredited Level 3 TVET provider since 2018.
Inclusion is not a policy.
It is a practice.
More than half of our current learners are women, and the Class of 2025 graduated 55 percent female with Persons with Disabilities represented in the cohort. None of that is accidental: it is designed into how we recruit, support and champion every learner.