Opwora calls for wider recognition of prior learning as World Talent Conference closes in Kisumu

The Director of Quality Assurance in the State Department for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), Dr Meshack Opwora, has called for enhanced Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) as a means of nurturing talent among gifted people who have not attained formal education.

Dr Opwora said people working in the informal sector who do not hold any form of certificate should be singled out for upward mobility. He called for close collaboration between industry players and institutions of higher learning in promoting RPL, and for closer ties between TVET institutions, technical universities and the African Talent University (TATU) to convert youth innovations into enterprises.

Speaking at the close of the World Talent Conference (WTC) 2026 in Kisumu, he said such partnerships would help student projects move beyond demonstrations and become viable businesses that create jobs.

Dr Opwora praised the creativity and innovations showcased at TATU and said the conference aligned with the government's agenda on RPL and Competency-Based Education and Training (CBET). He said he would recommend policy reforms informed by TATU's model of talent-based, practical education. He also disclosed that 87 development partners had expressed interest in supporting innovations from idea to enterprise.

According to organisers, TVET institutions scooped the top three overall project awards at the five-day convention. The event ran across three venues, including the main grounds, Mama Grace Onyango Social Centre and Baraza Media Lab at Lake Basin Mall, and drew 5,614 attendees who showcased talents, innovations and inventions.

TATU Founder Prof Humphrey Oborah said the conference was designed to change Africa's mindset about learning, proving that education extends beyond classroom walls and that school dropouts can build bankable products.

He said 17 projects had already been picked up by international investors, donors and partners for development, with a target to commercialise them by 2028. Prof Oborah added that the event will next year graduate to the checkpoint stage.

Participants were drawn from Ethiopia, Somalia, Cameroon, Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa, Liberia and Canada, with two TVET institutions and two universities from Kisumu represented. The majority came from Mt Kenya, Nakuru and the wider Rift Valley.

The conference was officially launched by the Governor of Kisumu in the presence of all County Executive Committee Members.

Also present was Ed Van Linn Vermeulen, Managing Director of Trust to Impact International from the Netherlands, who said he was impressed by Prof Oborah's work. He said his organisation has partnered with TATU for four years on the reclamation of the Nyando Delta catchment, a project that seeks to reverse flooding, increase biodiversity and stop algae growth in Winam Bay of Lake Victoria.

Mr Vermeulen said the future of the Delta restoration programme lies in mass mobilisation of youth talent, both through field agents working with tens of thousands of families and through high-tech monitoring, which is why he attended the WTC.

"The programme's future depends on youth talent, both through field agents working with families and through high-tech monitoring," he said.