Eldoret: Trainers from 20 Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Institutions in the North Rift region have completed advanced training on the government’s Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) program. This initiative, implemented by the State Department for Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET), aims to assess and certify Kenyans with skills in their respective areas of expertise.
According to Kenya News Agency, the second phase of the training took place at The Eldoret National Polytechnic (TENP) in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu. Dr. Meshack Opwora, TVET Director, highlighted the program’s target to assess over 15 million skilled Kenyans. “We are training an army of trainers and assessors to reach out to everyone with a skill but no certificate,” he said. Dr. Opwora emphasized that RPL certification equates to traditional certification, with both national and international recognition.
The program implements a competency-based curriculum with specific skills as key parameters for full, micro, or partial certification based on the individual’s competencies. Dr. Opwora urged skilled Kenyans without certificates to seek certification through TVETs, highlighting the program as an opportunity for formal recognition needed for employment, contracts, or further education.
RPL Delivery Unit Director Stanley Maindi noted the program’s focus on identifying, assessing, and certifying artisan workers in the informal economy, facilitating their access to formal opportunities. Since the policy’s launch in March last year, specialized training has equipped trainers to assess and certify skilled individuals nationwide.
Maindi mentioned that the second series of workshops is underway, with training sessions already conducted in the lake, coastal, and Mt Kenya regions, and currently in the north rift and western regions. The initiative also involves training master craft persons from the Jua Kali sector on assessment and certification processes.
The program targets certifying over 15 million skilled Kenyan artisans by year’s end, aiming to formalize the informal sector. Maindi reported that more than 5,000 artisans have been assessed and certified since the policy’s inception, with many securing jobs and contracts or pursuing further education.
Collaborating with the Kenya National Federation of Jua Kali, the program aligns with the government’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Model (BETA), empowering skilled artisans through affordable assessment and certification. Assessment costs range from Sh 5,000 for workplace evaluations to Sh 10,000 and upwards at institutions, depending on the certification level.
Dr. Koech Charles, Chief Principal of TENP, praised RPL as a new frontier in TVET, offering opportunities to Jua Kali and MSEs practitioners. Richard Opar, Regional Coordinator of the Kenya National Federation of Jua Kali Associations, North Rift, commended the government for implementing the RPL policy, recognizing the Jua Kali sector’s substantial contribution to employment in Kenya.