A certified Welder Training and Testing Centre designed to equip Ghanaian youth with globally recognised skills for industrial growth has been inaugurated by the Design and Technology Institute (DTI) in Accra.
The centre, which is the first American Welding Society (AWS) on the African continent, and built to comply with the AWS’s sense standard, would have a 40-booth welding workshop, digital simulators, and a mechanical and metallurgical testing laboratory.
The Founder of the DTI, Constance Swaniker, who inaugurated the centre, said it expected Ghana to produce world-class welding and fabrication experts, capable of meeting both domestic industry needs and competing in international markets.
“We can now offer the industry reliable local services in training, inspection and testing”, she stated and said, the centre represented a major leap for Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Ghana, providing young people with dignified, well-paying jobs locally and abroad.
Operation costs
She said it would reduce operational costs for industries and transform petroleum revenues into human capital dividends.
Isaac Tetteh (right), Head of Welding, Design and Technical Institute, conducting Constance Swaniker (2nd from right), founder, Design and Technical Institute, and other dignitaries round the newly commissioned centre
“By adopting the AWS SENSE curriculum, the Centre sets a new benchmark for human capital development in Ghana’s TVET sector, allowing the country to develop highly skilled, internationally certified welding and fabrication professionals,” Mrs Swaniker added.
The DTI Founder also said the country’s key industries, including oil and gas, mining, power generation, construction and manufacturing, required skilled welders and reliable material testing to meet strict quality and safety standards.
She said the DTI Centre bridges this critical gap by providing both advanced skills development and world-class testing services under one roof, while ensuring industry-ready professionals and efficient, cost-effective solutions.
The Head of Welding and Fabrication Department at the DTI, Isaac Tetteh, explained that the facility was fully equipped with modern multi-process welding machines capable of performing Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW), Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW), Flux-Cored Arc Welding (FCAW) and Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW) processes, along with essential consumables and testing tools.
Integration
He said what sets the centre apart is its integration of DTI’s Mechanical and Metallurgical Testing Laboratory, designed to conduct both destructive and non-destructive tests.
“This laboratory enables material verification, welding procedure qualification, and personnel qualification, all in line with international codes and standards,” he explained and added that organisations in the oil and gas, power generation, mining, and general construction sectors could now conduct their required mechanical and metallurgical tests for procedure and welder qualification at the DTI.
For his part, the acting Director of the Nuclear Power Institute of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC), Dr Archibold Buah-Kwofie, explained that the Centre aligned with the country’s broader industrialisation agenda, particularly in emerging sectors like energy infrastructure, oil and gas, and nuclear power development.
He said it represented more than just a training centre as it was a catalyst for national capability building.
Dr Buah-Kwofie, therefore, described the centre as a way to create professionals "not as job seekers, but as highly skilled professionals who are valued, respected and in high demand."
He said by providing internationally recognised certification through AWS SENSE curriculum, the centre would help to reduce dependency on foreign labour, strengthen local content participation in major infrastructure projects, and create opportunities for Ghanaian youth to become globally competitive professionals.
