Although skilled in his craft as a constructor Iddy Rwechungula,30, suffered missed opportunities and low professional self-esteem due to lack of formal training.
Iddy never attended secĀondary school and like over 4 million workers in the counĀtry, entered the informal sector in order to earn a livĀing. Iddy learned construcĀtion under the tutelage of his father who was a mason.
In countries with large inforĀmal economies like Tanzania, informal apprenticeships are the only option for millions of young people to acquire skills.
Informal apprenticeships have key features: There is a training agreement between a young learner and an experienced craftsperĀson to transmit the skills of trade between Iddy and his father. Under his fatherās guidance, Iddy learned from practical on the job training rather than formal education.
While a teenager, Iddy left his home town, Bukoba to Dar es Salaam where he explored his different talents in actĀing while supporting himĀself with construction work.
āI was a good actor, but I also found the time for conĀstruction jobs, particularly as a casual worker,ā he said. After taking a few odd jobs, Iddy secured work at Dar es Salaam port, as a cargo carrier. āI worked there for a long time, and one day one of the walls at the port collapsed. I asked to re-construct it,ā he said.
The re-construction of the fallen wall put him in conĀtact with the owner of SheĀdori Construction Company who hired him. After three years, Iddy was employed by an Indian construction firm, then moved to Greek and Chinese Companies where he gained more experience.
āI learned a lot of things but no one was ready to hire me because of my lack of educaĀtion. I also had not attended any vocational school and had no certificates at hand,ā he said.
Iddyās story shows the shortcomings and challenges of informal apprenticeship. Apart from offering sub-par and even dangerous workĀing conditions, long working hours, low wages and little or no social protection; inforĀmal apprenticeships also lead to a lack of skills upgradĀing and formal certification.
The agreements are often oral and are embedded withĀin the traditions norms and customs. The training proĀgramme is unregulated with no external quality assurances.
But Iddyās high skill level did secure him work and he was awarded a tender to re-build a dilapidated mosque. āI did thorough research of the place, re-designed and draw a new map. I finally managed to build it, fixing the previous problems,ā he said.
Iddyās work gained him recognition from the Staff of Ardhi University who visĀited the site and asked for his qualifications, CV and certifiĀcates, but he had none to show. Ardhi University called after a month and connect him with the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) programme run by Vocational EducaĀtional and Training Authority (VETA) with support from the International Labour OrganĀisation (ILO). The ILO supĀports the RPL programme under its Skills development (Skill Up) programme funded by the government of Norway.
RPL is a process used to identify assess and clarify an individualās knowledge, skills and competencies regardless of how, when and where the learning took place against prescribed standards for modular or full qualifications.
In March 2015, Iddy RwecĀhungula has officially enrolled in the RPL programme joined the other six youths from Kinondoni and many othĀers from Temeke (60), Ilala (24), Kigamboni (30) and Ubungo (15). To date, 3694 candidates have received their VETA RPL certificates.
Iddy and his peers filled in a basic competency applicaĀtion form in their area of expertise mainly, masonry, carpentry, food and beverage production, vehicle mechanĀics and tailoring. Candidates also submitted an evidence portfolio of their work to showcase their skills capacity.
After the initial applicaĀtion and self-assessment, Iddy was assigned to an RPL assessor who took him through several stages of competence testing such as a technical theory interview, practical skills assessment whereby the VETA assessor monitored Iddy while at work against a checklist of compeĀtences developed by VETA.
Iddy passed the assessment and moved to the next stage of technical theory training, busiĀness management, marketing and customer service modules at VETA. Iddy then received his VETA certification. Things have been lookĀing up for him ever since. Iddy now has access to bigĀger and better building projĀects and is more confident in his skills. āI am now buildĀing multi-story buildings, so I have to employ more peoĀple, in total I have worked with more than 40 people.
I am also looking forward to starting my own conĀstruction company.ā Iddyās story shows that RPL not only raises the confidence of informally skilled workĀers and artisans, but it faciliĀtates a major shift from informal to formal employĀment and self-employment.
How does it work?
In a nutshell, the RPLA proĀcess involves the following steps; an informal apprenĀtice, who meets the criteria applies for RPLA through fillĀing a skills competency form in their area of expertise.
RPLA facilitator guides the candidate about the RPL procedures, eligibility, comĀpetences required for assessĀment and portfolio develĀopment as part of evidence; Candidates submit the application, VETA assesĀsors screens it and interĀviews the candidates. The candidates get preĀpared for assessment. Candidates get assessed against prescribed standards for the selected qualification;
Who does the RPL programme target?
RPL targets workers like Iddy who have been workĀing in the informal sector for a minimum of five years. It targets workers who have acquired occupational skills through non-formal trainĀing or through life or work experience but never recĀognized and/or certified.
The benefits of RPL
Upgrading informal apprenĀticeship is crucial because:
ā¢ It provides pathways to formal training for those who missed out and or those who preĀviously did not qualify.
ā¢ Moves workers to the forĀmal economy and gives them access to apply for government tenders (which they would not be able to access due to lack of certification).
ā¢ Introduces candidates to basic business manĀagement and gives them the skills to manĀage a team of employees.
ā¢ Encourages further learning and skills upgrading and linkages with formal training.
ā¢ It promotes equity and social inclusion, proĀmotes flexible learnĀing through multiple entries and exit learnĀing mechanisms.
ā¢ It also benefits employĀers, through more skilled workers and helps them to meet quality assurance stanĀdards of TBS and ISO.
Where is the programme now?
VETA in collaboration with enterprises and with support from ILO has finalĀized a national guideline for RPL, competency standards for 4 sectors including motor vehicle mechanics, CarpenĀtry and joinery masonry and bricklaying and food proĀduction have also been set.
VETA is also currently makĀing moves to expand the RPL programme across Tanzania and is currently conducting training of over 240 assessors from all over Tanzania in SinĀgida. More occupations have also been targeted with direcĀtives from the government on occupations needed for the countryās industrial drive.
Furthermore, the ILO is also currently working with the government of Zanzibar and Vocational Training Authority (VTA) to pinpoint top occupaĀtions for RPL assessment as an initial stage of developing ZanĀzibarās first RLP programme.