The Kenya National Qualifications Authority (KNQA) has implored Kenyans with skills and competencies acquired through informal learning to seek certification through the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) programme.
In their view, this will improve their employability and mobility.
According to General Juma Mukhwana who is a recently nominated Principal Secretary to the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the certification will enable beneficiaries are able to secure jobs within their respective disciplines and at the same time benefit from tenders from the government.
Mukhwana said that the programme had generated a lot of interest across the country and that through a partnership with several Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) institutions, more Kenyans are going to be certified.
“July we conferred the first recognition of prior learning certificates to 62 graduates training with base titanium in Kwale County. By the end of this year, we expect to issue certificates to more than 500 Kenyans,” said Mukhwana.
While attending a workshop for RPL assessors from the Nyanza region that was held in Kisumu, he said that through the programme, Jua Kali artisans, plumbers, tailors, mechanics and many others are going to receive certificates that are recognized internationally to facilitate their mobility and career progress.
In addition, he said that this is in stark contrast to previous times when workers in the sector which comprises around eighty per cent of the country’s workforce were looked down upon.
“For example, a mason would carry a photo album to show potential clients some of the projects he has done. The certification will put them on par with their counterparts who went through formal training.
They can travel outside the country and use the certificates to get decent employment,” said Mukhwana.
The KNQA Director of Technical Services, Stanley Maindi said that the agency has joined hands with the Kenya National Federation of Jua Kali Associations to tap and certify talents.
According to him, they were doing the assessment in local languages to ensure that as many skilled Kenyans as possible benefit from the programme.
62 graduates were conferred with certificates in base titanium on the 7th of July 2022 in Kwale County by the National Industrial Training Authority (NITA). They were the first graduates to be awarded under the RPL policy.