By
David C. Chakonta M.Eng. (Hons); Dip. Tech. Teaching; FEIZ,MIET;R.Eng.
Director General
Technical Education, Vocational and Entrepreneurship
Training Authority (TEVETA),
Zambia
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Introduction
Government Mechanisms used to validate Competences (ie.
Knowledge, Skills & Attitudes) acquired informally by
apprentices
Established policies, guidelines, and documentation on the
Trade Testing System
Trade Testing Process Outline
Statistics – 2011 & 2012
Costs and funding of Trade Testing
Benefits of Trade Testing system
Do you have both Trade testing as well as RPL/ RPEL
mechanisms?
Future Plans
Conclusion
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Zambia came into being as country on 24th
October 1964 following the end of colonial rule
by the British Government;
Under both British Government rule and
Zambian Government rule, Apprenticeship
training and learning was recognized through
development and provision of relevant policy,
legislative and/or regulatory instruments.
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About 90% of the labour force population is in informal
employment,
About 93% of persons employed in the economy, had no
(formal) skills training technically for the jobs they were
performing. Recognizing that those employed must have
acquired the competences (ie. knowledge, skills and
attitudes) ) to enable sell their labour in exchange for a
salary and/or profit from sold goods and services,
through informal apprenticeship training situations
Source: 2008 Labour Force Survey Report, Ministry of Labour & Social
Security and Central Statistics Office - Zambia
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Trade Testing system is the predominant
mechanism for recognizing competences acquired
mainly through the learning embedded in the daily
job task performance.(NB essentially an RPL Assessment
system in principle)
Informal apprenticeship training in the Zambian context
includes on the job and/or social network based learning
situations, where an apprenticeship relationship is defined by
supervisor- surbordinate, and/or mentor-mentee
relationships within a formal or informal sector enterprise
workplace setting.
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Historically, Trade Testing in Zambia has been said
to have emerged as part of demobilization
intervention after the Second World War. The
contingent nature of the war had forced or enabled
many individuals to acquire an assortment of skills
for which at the time, no validation system existed.
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The 1969 Statement of Intent on Technical
Education and Vocational Training (TEVT), - the
first post-independence policy on TVET, and the
second one which was the 1996 Technical
Education, Vocational and Entrepreneurship
Training (TEVET) both recognized and provided
policy guidelines on Trade Testing that have guided
the development of regulatory standards by
TEVETA
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Anchor resource - the various Trade Testing
centers accredited by the Technical Education,
Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training
Authority (TEVETA) located in various districts of
the country. They numbered about 200 in 2012.
Complementary to the Centers is a pool of accredited
skills assessors by TEVETA in the various trades.
Curricula has been developed to facilitate trade
testing; these have been complemented by regulatory
Guidelines;
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Eligibility has usually been traceable workplace experience
and/or enrolment on a particular training programme
leading to award of a Trade Test certificate being offered by
relevant TEVETA registered training institutions.
Following the re-structuring of the Zambian economy that
occurred as a result of the privatization programme in the
1990s, which pushed many skilled and semi-skilled labour
into the informal segment of the Zambian economy, the
number of Trade Testing candidates from formal sector
enterprises reduced very drastically. Survivalist factors and
the fact that there was no direct incentive for a obtaining
higher level Trade Test certificate such as increase in pay in
informal sector settings were serious constraints;
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Emergence of community based Skills Training
centers mainly by church organizations and a few
local authorities, designed to empower youths from
vulnerable households, witnessed a significant
growth of Trade Testing candidates coming from
classroom based training rather than workplace
based training. This bias is still in place, although
measures have commenced to re-open up
opportunities from those in the workplace.
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Procedure for entry - Interested candidates
complete assessment entry application forms and
send them to TEVETA via particular assessment
centres where they will go for assessment. Prior to
2011, the Trade Testing system was so decentralized
to an extent where individual assessors would set
separate assessment exercises. With progressively
diminishing financial resources available to Trade
Testing centres, validity and reliability of
assessments or tests began to be questioned. From
2011 TEVETA decided to set national papers and
uniform dates for Trade Testing.
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All programmes leading to Trade Test certificate are
based on national curricula, and that is where
assessment instruments, strategies and procedures
are derived from.
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With the current bias to classroom based
instruction, there is practically no Trade Testing
candidates from the informal apprenticeship
training system.
Number assessed during 2011:
3,742
Number assessed 2012:
5,585
Note: A 49% annual growth; – mainstreaming of informal
apprenticeship through Informal sector Workplace Based training
systems being planned for is likely drive the annual growth rates even
higher.
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Government Grants are the main source of funding,
with each candidate paying a fairly subsidized fee.
Church organizations and NGOs also play in part
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When candidates for the Trade Testing system came
from formal sector enterprises under whose
environment they had undergone informal
apprenticeship training (ie. learning on the job) the
benefits of validating additionally acquired skills
usually came by way of a salary increase and/or a
promotion. For informal sector operators being
aware where they are ranked is a motivator as is the
ability to wave something to peers and/or assure
customers that they have been certified competent.
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Yes and No
Yes - because the Trade Testing system as operated
in Zambia was underpinned by the principle of
recognizing competences acquired from semi-to-non
structured learning situations in the course of an
individual performing his/her daily work tasks;
No - because the current practice of trade testing
does not provide for any formative assessment. It
operates on the Pass or Fail principle.
Lessons learned – Strengths of the Trade Testing system:
 Flexible and comparatively low cost access to TEVET.
 Has potential to foster effective collaborations involving
learners, employers, training providers and training
regulators for mutual benefit of all parties. It provides a
very good tool for promoting life-long learning as by
way of flexible and structured entry and exit from the
TEVET system. It has highlighted the fact that informal
apprenticeship training in the strict sense of the word
does also take place in formal sector workplace
situations, rather than just informal sector workplaces.
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Lessons learned – Weaknesses of the Trade Testing
system:
Criteria for discriminating between competence
levels of the Trade Test certification system has been
a bit arbitrary. The existing model was based on
formal sector employees and not informal sector
employees who make the bulk of the Zambian labour
force.
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Mainstreaming Workplace Based Training systems
into the national system for Technical Education,
Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training
(TEVET) – this strategy has recognized the
Informal/MSME Workplace is a unique segment of
workplace based learning and training.
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The TEVET Sub-Framework of Zambia’s National
Qualifications Framework uses two objects to recognize
acquired learning or competences; the Qualification and a
Skills Award. A Qualification is used to recognize a more
comprehensive and broad based set of competences attributed
to a minimum of 1,100 Notional Learning hours; while a
Skills Award is used to recognize a rather narrow based set
of competences attributed to Notional Learning hours
ranging between 480 and 1,100 hours, but with recognizable
and tradable value in the labour market. Recognition or
validation of acquired competences through Informal
Apprenticeship training through conferment of Skills
Awards will be one of key strategies for upgrading Informal
Apprenticeship training in Zambia.
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Mainstreaming Workplace Based Training systems into the national
system for Technical Education, Vocational and Entrepreneurship
Training (TEVET) – this strategy has recognized the Informal/MSME
Workplace is a unique segment of workplace based learning and training
The TEVET Sub-Framework of Zambia’s National Qualifications
Framework uses two objects to recognize acquired learning or
competences; the Qualification and a Skills Award. A Qualification is
used to recognize a more comprehensive and broad based set of
competences attributed to a minimum of 1,100 Notional Learning hours;
while a Skills Award is used to recognize a rather narrow based set of
competences attributed to Notional Learning hours ranging between 480
and 1,100 hours, but with recognizable and tradable value in the labour
market. This development has give rise to the notion of nationally
recognized short courses. Recognition of acquired competences through
Informal Apprenticeship training through conferment of Skills Awards
will be one of key strategies for upgrading Informal Apprenticeship
training in Zambia.
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The Trade Testing system has provided a mechanism for
upgrading skills gained informally through formal sector
workplaces and has potential for adaptation to the informal sector
workplace apprenticeship training;
Plans are underway to engage with professional bodies and
industry associations with regard to developing Occupation or
Trade specific Qualification Level Descriptors to help discriminate
Trade Test certificate levels.
Introduction of the Skills Award as an instrument for recognising
learning achievement for relative to labour market value should
also assist in upgrading informal apprenticeships;
Given the dominance of the Informal sector in Sub-Saharan
Africa’s economies and the opportunities offered by ICT
development upgrading of informal Apprenticeships will become
very feasible;
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An Information, Education and Communication
(IEC) campaign to raise awareness about the
opportunities offered by the Trade Testing system is
on the cards that will target different publics
including informal sector operators and support
organizations working with them.
Thank You for Your Attention