More than 5,000 Kenyans have received official certification from recognized institutions through the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) programme.
This achievement comes a year after the RPL policy was enacted in March 2024, paving the way for millions of Kenyans with experience and competencies acquired outside traditional classrooms to gain national recognition.
The initiative, spearheaded by the Directorate of RPL within the State Department for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), is designed to validate and accredit the skills of individuals working in the informal sector who have long been overlooked by formal education systems.
RPL Director Stanley Maindi said that through the policy, the government was working with national polytechnics to carry out assessments and issue certificates at different levels to eligible Kenyans.
He said the institutions have been tasked with evaluating candidates based on their practical competencies and knowledge, aligning them with the National Qualifications Framework.
This, he said, was in line with the Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), which aims to ensure those at the bottom are empowered through certification to get formal employment or bargain for better perks.
“The certificates we are issuing through RPL are the same as those issued to those who go through the formal education system. The goal is to ensure that Kenyans with skills and competencies but who did not get a chance to go to class are assessed and awarded certificates, which they can even use to advance their studies,” he said.
Speaking at Kisumu National Polytechnic, where certification assessments are currently underway, Maindi underscored the importance of the programme in unlocking new economic and professional opportunities.
“Kenya continues to receive requests for workers with different skills to work abroad. Like recently, there was a request for meat cutters to go and work in slaughterhouses. Since we don’t have such a course in our formal education system, we are now able to look at the skills required and assess individuals working in the sector so that we give them certificates to take up the job offers,” he said.
He added that through partnerships with development partners, the Directorate has trained its eyes on the 15 million Kenyans working in the informal sector to ensure they are assessed and certified.
The campaign, he said, targets food and beverage, masonry, carpentry, building and construction, CCTV technology, electrical installation, solar PV installation, electrical alarm system technology, engine technology, autobody repair and spray painting, fashion design, and fisheries technology.
“The candidates are assessed not just on what they know, but on what they can do. The assessment is both oral and written because some of the candidates cannot write. Where need be, we do oral tests in mother tongue. This approach ensures that certification is truly reflective of their real-world abilities,” Maindi added.
He said to ramp up the programme, officers from the RPL Directorate would be making onsite visits targeting government programmes and institutions where a good number of Kenyans in the informal sector have been engaged.
“We are targeting the Affordable Housing Programme, county integrated markets, and Blue Economy projects. Our plan is to engage the contractors so that we assess those working with them and issue them with certificates,” he said.
Maindi said the minimum cost for the exercise was Sh5,500 for those visiting the various institutions awarding the certificates. This, however, was likely to vary depending on the nature of tests undertaken, he said.
“When they come to an institution like Kisumu National Polytechnic, for example, there are costs involved. For example, if it is electrical installation, the institution must buy the materials required for the tests. So, the cost can go beyond the Sh5,500,” he explained.
Maindi urged Kenyans in the informal sector to take advantage of the initiative and take up the tests in order to secure certificates.
He said beneficiaries of the programme have already begun to experience the ripple effects of formal certification.
Maindi said a recent tracer study carried out by the Kenya National Qualifications Authority (KNQA) revealed that the majority of those who have transitioned to formal employment using the certificates were performing above par.
“Many have reported increased employment prospects, eligibility for government contracts, access to further education, and greater respect within their trades,” he said.
By Chris Mahandara
