- KNQA acting Director General Alice Kande said the framework will curb unemployment in the country.
- She said most workers have skills but are unable to get jobs due to lack of papers.
Image: HANDOUT
Skilled workers without formal education will have a chance to acquire certificates through the Recognition Prior Learning Policy framework (RPL).
The policy aims to transform the education sector by assessing and certifying skills acquired through experience.
Education experts across the country have reviewed the policy framework which seeks to give competent skilled workers certificates to help them get formal jobs in the market.
KNQA acting Director General Alice Kande said the framework will curb unemployment in the country as most workers have skills but are unable to get jobs due to lack of papers.
"We want to provide a policy that is going to open up doors to people who have been forgotten yet we know very well they are doing a lot," Kande said.
According to Kande, a survey has revealed that 83 per cent of citizens who are working in the informal sector have skills but don't have formal qualifications.
She added that through the RPL certificates, workers with skills and competencies will have a chance to enhance their studies in the formal sector which in return will help them acquire jobs quickly.
"We appreciate that people are really learning, obtaining skills and competencies that are really helping them to probably get some meaningful job to make a meaningful life out of that. So what the framework does is to ensure that no single competency or skill goes unrecognised," Kande said.
"To avoid wastage, the framework allows for progression across pathways. So I can move from the skills pathway and get to the formal education and training."
Some of the skills categories that will be assessed through RPL include; education, arts and humanities, social sciences, journalism and information, business administration and law.
Others include; natural sciences, mathematics and statistics, ICT engineering, manufacturing and construction, agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary, health and welfare services.
Kande was speaking in Naivasha during a workshop with education experts. The experts were drawn from the Ministry of Education, Kenya National Qualifications Authority, National Industrial Training Institute, Technical Vocational Education Training Authority and Council of Governors.
She assured that the first group of students who have completed the RPL programme will graduate next month.
The framework will also be launched during the graduation ceremony on October 6, 2023.
She affirmed that the policy will harmonise the national curriculum development approach to produce quality skilled human resources that meet the needs of the job market.
"We appreciate that as they are able to really progress and their skills get recognised, they are putting bread on their table and they are contributing to the economic development of this country," she said.
"If they have the option to just use a certificate to look for opportunities, then it means at least with a certificate that shows its is credible, it will definitely be opening doors."
The Presidential Working Party on Education Reform recommended the implementation and awareness of RPL policy and Credit Accumulation and Transfer Systems in Kenya.
The move is to provide a framework for recognition of skills through the award of certificates, based on competence to better enable them to participate in various economic opportunities.