First Cohort of the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) Policy Framework Graduates in Kenya

The Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) Policy Framework was officially launched at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2024, with the first cohort of 883 individuals from across the country graduating. Senior national and county government officials, led by the Deputy President, H.E. Rigathi Gachagua, and education sector players attended the event.

The Deputy President, who awarded the certificates, stressed that employers must align job description requirements to accommodate recent graduates. “Let us affirm the skills and competences of the Kenyan people and give them an equal chance to participate in national development,” Gachagua said.

The RPL Policy aims to guide the implementation of recognising skills and competences acquired through informal learning, which lacks official certification. It will facilitate the mobility of workers, access to better jobs, opportunities for life-long learning, and better training prospects. It will also enable those in the informal economy to move into the formal economy, enabling them to benefit from decent jobs.

According to Dr. Peter Wekesa, the Ag. Deputy Director of Planning Research, Outreach and Policy at the Kenya National Qualifications Authority (KNQA), the labour market is in need of the skills possessed by those in the informal sector. 

“There are people with specific competences. If we can recognise and certify those skills, they will get job opportunities,” he stated.

KNQA, whose mandate is to coordinate and harmonise education, training, assessment and quality assurance of all qualifications awarded in the country, is Kenya’s custodian of the RPL policy. In 2021, KNQA brought together government ministries, agencies, employers, and development partners to develop the RPL Policy, which was approved on January 15, 2024.

Throughout the process, the DREEM Project, a WUSC initiative in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation and additional WUSC partners, has been instrumental in the rollout of RPL, particularly in refugee camps in Kenya. WUSC partnered with other development organisations such as Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan) and Kenyan TVET institutions including the Kitale National Polytechnic, the Eldoret National Polytechnic, and Lodwar Vocational Training Center to identify, select, and support refugees whose skill sets and informal experiences would qualify them to graduate through the RPL Policy.  

Due to its proximity to Kakuma, the Kitale National Polytechnic, a qualification awarding institution with trained RPL assessors, conducted the RPL assessment. Together with WUSC, the institution raised awareness in the Kakuma Refugee Camp and Kalobeyei Settlement about the opportunity to participate in a process that would lead to certification and graduation through the RPL Policy. Approximately 400 individuals expressed interest, and after an extensive shortlisting, review of portfolios of evidence, and theory and practical examinations, 28 individuals were recommended for graduation.

For 25-year-old Kaka Kandura Haroun, who fled to Kenya from Sudan in 2012 and is now an Electrical Installation Level 4 graduate, receiving her certification was a dream come true. Along with other graduates, Kaka travelled from Kakuma Refugee Camp to Nairobi for the graduation event.

“I was so happy to be awarded the RPL certificate by Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua. At first, I was scared to stand in front of so many people, but somehow I managed,” she said in an interview after graduating. “I am proud of WUSC Kenya for walking with us on this journey.” 

Kaka hopes the RPL certificate will enable her to find work in Kenya’s electrical and solar installation industry. She would also like to acquire Kenyan citizenship in the future.

The recently-approved RPL Policy elevates Kenya to one of the few African countries that has acknowledged and embraced recognition of prior learning as a qualification for joining the workforce.  

The Principal Secretary for TVET, Dr. Esther Thaara Muoria, noted how the RPL Policy and formal recognition of skills will contribute to Kenya’s labour force and economy. 

“We require pools of skilled workers for industrialists to want to come and invest in Kenya. Without them, those investors will not come,” she said.