Government to issue certificates to 15 million artisans in informal sector

At least 5, 000 artisans in the Jua Kali sector have been awarded certificates under recognition of prior learning (RPL) policy.

Top implementers of the policy yesterdays said the government was targeting to certify 15 million skilled Kenyans in the informal sector in recognition of their contributions in filling technical gaps.

Officials from the state department of Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) under the Ministry of Education said a massive certification of artisans, including mechanics, tailors, welders, masons, and painters, among others, was set for a major rollout.

Hundreds of trainers drawn from TVET institutions and the Jua Kali sector were trained yesterday at the Eldoret National Polytechnic in readiness for the nationwide exercise.

Director of TVET Meshack Obwora said the massive certifications will be conducted in both TVET institutions and in the industry.

Dr Obwora said the artisans with prior learning will be offered certificates based on areas of competency.

Some will be issued with full certification, micro accreditation, or partial recognition depending on their level of competencies.

“The competencies required for certification are the same as those of individuals who have acquired training in formal institutions. The certificates will be internationally recognized,” Dr Obwara.

He added: “No technical skill is exempted from certification. You can be tested so long as you have the skill.”

Eldoret National Polytechnic Chief Principal Charles Koech said the institution hosted RPL practitioners from 20  TVET institutions in the North Rift region.

 Director of RPL delivery unit Stanley Maindi said the artisans are assessed on language and communication skills and practical competencies in workshops before receiving their certificates.

Maindi said the education system has been locking out highly skilled individuals who are currently in the informal sector.

“It is part of the formalization of the informal sector. The Kenya National Qualifications did a survey and they discovered that some of the 5000 Kenyans who were assessed and given certificates have acquired formal jobs, and others have enrolled in TVETs to sharpen their skills,” he said, adding that the certificates will enable skilled artisans to gain formal employment and contracts.

He said assessors have been trained and will be deployed to the industry to identify and assess skilled individuals in the Jua Kali sector.

Trainers in Coast, Lake region, and Mount Kenya, he said, have already been trained in readiness for a mass certification of artisans

Maindi said prior learners are inconvenienced by a lack of certification when competing for opportunities with their counterparts who have been trained in formal institutions.

“Eldoret National Polytechnic is among the institutions that award and assess.

“Skilled Kenyans without certification can walk into any TVET institution, not for training but for assessment, and can be assessed and awarded their certificate,” he added.

Regional coordinator at Kenya National Federation of Jua Kali Association, Richard Opar, said informal sector players have been incorporated in the training.

He said the department of TVET had identified several Jua Kali artisans as RPL master craft trainers.

“The Jua Kali sector employs over 17 million artisans, who are skilled in different sub-sectors of the industry. We are having a formal Memorandum of Understanding with Eldoret National Polytechnic that assessed and certified a number of our artisans and awarded RPL certificates,” he said.