The Takoradi Technical University was established in September, 2016, as a result of the government’s policy to convert Takoradi Polytechnic, among five other Polytechnics, to the status of Technical University. In effect, since April 1954, Takoradi Technical University (formerly Takoradi Polytechnic) has existed as a Government Technical Institute under the Ghana Education Service of the Ministry of Education. During that period, the institute offered programmes mainly at the Craft and Technician Certificate levels in commercial and technical subjects, awarding Royal Society of Arts (RSA) and City and Guilds of London, United Kingdom. However, in 1990, the Ghana Education Service took over the awards of the above-mentioned certificates.

As part of the Ghana Educational Reforms which began in the 1980s, the Takoradi Technical Institute and five other similar institutions were upgraded by the Polytechnic Act 321 (PNDC Law 1993) to become part of the Ghana Tertiary Education System. The Polytechnics, per the law, began to offer Higher National Diploma (HND) programmers in the 1993/1994 academic year. These reforms mandated the polytechnics to compliment the role of the Universities to increase access to tertiary education for the training of middle and higher-level manpower.

A Bill proposed by the Ministry of Education and considered by Cabinet of Government in 2014 was passed by Parliament as an Act in August 2016 with the assent of the President, converting some polytechnics into technical universities as full-fledged technical universities. In view of that, the Takoradi Polytechnic Council adopted the name “Takoradi Technical University” which has been duly registered with the Registrar General’s Department of Ghana.
Currently, Takoradi Technical University has three (3) campuses: Effia Kuma (Takoradi), Butumagyebu (Sekondi) and Akatakyi (Agona-Nkwanta). The Akatakyi Campus is the largest of the three, with an acreage of 152.3.