This study examined whether industry expectations mediate the relationship between the hospitality and catering curriculum and graduate attributes, and between faculty members’ teaching methods and graduate attributes in Ghana. Drawing on data from faculty members, graduates, and industry practitioners across ten public Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions, the study applies Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) with bootstrapped indirect path testing and Sobel Test confirmation within an explanatory sequential mixed-method design. Stakeholder and experiential learning theories provide the theoretical grounding. Both mediation hypotheses were supported. Industry expectations significantly mediate the effects of both curriculum design and pedagogical innovation on graduate attributes, with the teaching methods pathway producing a substantially larger indirect effect than the curriculum pathway. The Technology Attributes dimension of graduate attributes, capturing digital literacy and technology readiness, is among the strongest indicators in the measurement model, confirming that industry-mediated pedagogical innovation shapes the digital competencies employers most urgently need. The study is confined to Ghana’s public TVET sector, the cross-sectional design limits causal inference, and the model fit is moderate. Curriculum reform alone is insufficient: the Commission for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (CTVET) and the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) should require faculty pedagogical development, specifically technology-integrated and learner-centered instructional methods aligned with digital industry expectations as a programme accreditation standard. This study is the first in Ghana to validate dual mediation pathways using both bootstrapped PLS-SEM and Sobel Test confirmation. The finding that pedagogical innovation has a substantially larger indirect effect on graduate attributes than curriculum design directly challenges the prevailing assumption that curriculum revision is the primary lever for improving graduate quality in emerging-economy TVET systems.