Self-taught skills get a nod

What good can come from self-taught skilled hands as certified artisans struggle to find jobs? This question makes sense until someone without a certificate springs up to fix a sudden or stubborn fault. The unlikely messiah could be a rural Jim or Jane who expertly repairs a car radio that bamboozled well-trained electronics repairers in your town.

It may as well be an underrated roadside fellow who pinpoints and resolves with remarkable ease and experience a fuel pump fault of your misfiring vehicle that compelled certified mechanics to replace at a high but needless cost that spark plugs or sensors. Such are the unsung heroes that soon you wonder: “What good does formal certification provide for those with proven skills to practice for years without receiving any?” In 2021, Malawi embraced a policy shift to start providing certificates to deserving workers who gained skills outside the formal technical, entrepreneurial and vocational education and training (Tevet) system. Minister of Labour, Skills and Innovation Joel Chigona says Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) opens limitless possibilities for hidden talent long denied lucrative jobs, public contracts and other proceeds of skills.

He states: “Tens of thousands of young Malawians complete secondary education every year, but very few go to universities, technical colleges and other tertiary education institutions. “We need to recognise skilled people who obtain competencies outside the formal Tevet system, while expanding access to technical colleges and creating pathways for those with Tevet certificates to pursue higher learning in our universities.” The certificates confer status on underrated and underpriced informal artisans who help you keep going when your vehicle jerks to a sudden stop. Their informal skills put you back on the road and work when the going gets tough and trusting an experienced local artisan to urgently come to your aid far outweighs the temptation to call certified geeks from town.

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However, a majority of them toil for a rip-off as credible certification for hands-on knowledge remains hard to get for self-taught workers. “Many Malawians have valuable skills as mechanics, tailors, builders or welders through everyday experience, but do not know how to get certification,” said Secretary for Labour Nwazi Mnthambala. The initiative aims at recognising all artisans “regardless of when or where they acquired the skill, whether from a relative or on the job”, her statement shows. The Tevet Authority (Teveta) requires interested skilled persons to complete an application form at their nearest regional trade testing centre and take applicable tests.

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