Recognising the Unrecognised: Kenya’s Certification Drive and the Future of Africa’s Informal Workforce

Acting Secretary of TVET Joseph Njau

Introduction: Africa’s Silent Workforce Steps into the Light

Across the African continent, the informal sector remains the backbone of most national economies teeming with workers whose expertise often goes unrecognised, unregulated, and unrewarded. In Kenya, a bold new initiative to certify these workers is now underway, aiming to formally validate the skills of artisans, mechanics, builders, and other self-taught professionals. But this isn’t just a Kenyan story. It’s part of a continental conversation about how to honour and empower the millions who keep our economies running without ever setting foot in a formal classroom.

Kenya’s Recognition of Prior Learning Programme

The Government of Kenya, through the State Department for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), has launched the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) programme, targeting the informal workforce. The programme allows experienced workers especially in construction, hospitality, and mechanical sectors to be assessed and formally certified, even without conventional academic credentials.

According to Acting Secretary of TVET Joseph Njau, the government aims to train over 7,000 assessors and has already certified over 5,000 workers, with a goal of reaching 1 million people. These certifications are expected to help workers access better contracts, negotiate wages more effectively, and become competitive in both local and international markets.

The importance of this initiative is hard to overstate. In Kenya, the informal sector employs more than 80% of the workforce, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. Yet, most of these workers remain excluded from social protection, credit access, and upward economic mobility due to the lack of official recognition.

Lessons and Comparisons from Across Africa

Kenya is not alone in grappling with the need to formalise the informal. Across the continent, governments and labour movements are experimenting with similar pathways:

South Africa has one of the most structured Recognition of Prior Learning frameworks, supported by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA). While implementation is still uneven, sectors like mining, healthcare, and retail have made progress in certifying informal workers through employer and union partnerships.

Ghana initiated its own RPL model through the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET). Though progress has been slow, some vocational institutions have started piloting assessments for informal artisans in carpentry, plumbing, and electrical work.

In Nigeria, the National Board for Technical Education has also launched RPL frameworks, but systemic challenges such as corruption, underfunded institutions, and weak enforcement mechanisms have limited its reach.

Meanwhile, Rwanda’s approach focuses more on integrating informal workers into cooperatives and offering group-based accreditation through technical institutions.

What Kenya’s model offers especially through decentralised training hubs in Kisumu, Nyeri, and Mombasa is a grassroots approach that can be scaled continentally. It centres worker dignity, keeps the process accessible, and ties certification directly to livelihood enhancement rather than bureaucratic formality.

The Role of Unions and the Struggle for Recognition

Unions have a critical role to play in this transformation. In countries like South Africa, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA), the largest metalworkers’ union in Africa, representing workers in sectors ranging from auto manufacturing to engineering, has actively campaigned for the integration of informal mechanics and welders into national skills frameworks. In Kenya, however, the union presence in the informal sector remains relatively thin, though this could shift as more workers gain formal credentials and begin demanding better labour protections.

As AfCLAD has consistently argued, the power relations between informal workers and the state or capital are skewed heavily against the worker. Certification without rights and protections only gives a sheen of formalisation without altering structural inequality. That’s why RPL must be accompanied by strong organising, legal frameworks for fair work, and union support.

Youth and Gender: Who Stands to Gain the Most

Africa’s youth population is the fastest growing in the world, with 70% of sub-Saharan Africa under the age of 30, according to the United Nations. A vast majority of these young people find employment in the informal sector, often in precarious and exploitative conditions. Certification provides not just validation but a launching pad for more secure employment and entrepreneurship.

For women, the stakes are even higher. Informal markets and services are dominated by female labour; think food vendors, hairdressers, tailors; yet these are the most undervalued sectors. A rights-based, gender-sensitive RPL process could begin to close the gap in wages and visibility for African women workers.

Conclusion: From Policy to Power

Kenya’s RPL programme signals a shift in how governments perceive and engage with the informal workforce. It treats skill as something to be honoured, not hidden. But it is only the beginning.

For this to be a truly transformative effort across Africa, governments must invest in scaling these programmes, unions must bring more informal workers into their folds, and civil society must continue pushing for structural reforms in labour laws and social protections. Skills recognition without power is a half-measure. Certification, when paired with worker organising and public investment, could redefine what dignified work looks like for the majority of Africans.

References:

1. Kenya News Agency. (2025, April 29). Government launches drive to certify informal sector skills. Link

2. Kenya News Agency. (2025, April 10). Over 5,000 Kenyans Certified Through Recognition of Prior Learning Programme. Link

3. Capital FM. (2024, March 23). RPL framework will dignify self-taught persons in job market: Gachagua. Link

4. South African Qualifications Authority. (2023). RPL in South Africa. www.saqa.org.za
   UNESCO-UNEVOC. (2021). RPL initiatives in Sub-Saharan Africa.

5. United Nations OHRLLS. (2024). Africa’s Youth and the Future of Work. Link

6. AfCLAD Briefs (2024). Informal Labour Recognition: The Case for Policy and Power.