SIA-Africa's Person of the Month for June 2018 is renowned Ghanaian sculptor, and founder of The Design & Technology Institute, Constance Elizabeth Swaniker. Ms. Swaniker formally launched DTI in 2016, looking to share her skills and experience in the metal and craft industry in the belief that there was a big demand for skilled labor in Ghana.
Swaniker was motivated to establish the Institute with the main purpose of equipping students with skills they can utilize to "empower themselves both technically and financially." The Institute has four main missions posted on its website: provide attendees with employable skills for life; boost the confidence of attendees as a secret to getting ahead and getting started on a career path; the safety of attendees; and, women empowerment - noting "a woman with a voice is by definition a strong woman."
She is quoted as being "deeply passionate about championing the crusade for skills development in Africa." DTI seeks to train a new generation of creative and talented individuals for the continent’s socio-economic growth.
Special preference for acceptance at DTI is noted for young women who have an earnest desire to learn employable skills for vocations traditionally set aside for men. The school has several agreements with area schools, including SIA-Africa beneficiary school Takoradi Polytechnic.
After graduating from another SIA-Africa beneficiary school, Accra Academy, Swaniker earned her bachelor’s degree at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology (KNUST). She spent her vacations working in her aunt's wood workshop among 60 male carpenters, sprayers and upholsters. The experience equipped Swaniker with needed skills and an entrepreneurial mindset to establish her own factory six months after graduation, founding Ghana’s- and arguably West Africa’s - premier wrought iron and wood company Accents and Art. DTI, established as a privately owned technical skills training school, is now a hub for engineering and design practice.
