Voices from ILO PROSPECTS
Transforming informal skills into formal opportunities: Theresa's journey of self-empowerment in Kenya
A self-taught entrepreneur highlights the importance of skill certification in Kenya's informal sector, empowering millions to eradicate poverty.
27 August 2024
Theresa Waikuru is a founder of Baraka Women's Centre in Kenya. She graduated in the first cohort of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) program in Kenya in hairdressing and dressmaking trade.
She never went to a dressmaking or hairdressing school but learned her skills through practice to an extent that she was coaching many others in her community.
RPL certified her skills and provided her with formal certification in line with university or a college degree. Along with her, it also made her students proud.
Related content
PROSPECTS Impact
From self-taught to certified: Kenya's Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) awards over 600 certificates
Voices from ILO PROSPECTS
Passion into professionalism: Dickson's journey to earning a cosmetology diploma
Voices from ILO PROSPECTS
From volunteer to firefighter: Sara's journey of saving lives with Recognition of Prior Learning
PROSPECTS Impact
Rising from informal work to a government employee: the story of Florence Wambui
Relevant projects
ILO-Netherlands Partnership
Partnership for improving prospects for forcibly displaced persons and host communities (PROSPECTS) in Kenya
Programme
Partnership for improving prospects for forcibly displaced persons and host communities (PROSPECTS)