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The qualifications ladder
Kenya sorts every qualification — artisan certificate to doctorate — onto one 10-level framework. Once you can see the ladder, the rest of the system stops being confusing.
The Kenya National Qualifications Framework (KNQF) is run by KNQA. It exists so that a qualification earned in one place means something everywhere else — including abroad, because the framework is deliberately mapped onto the international UNESCO classification and aligned with the East African Community framework.
The practical consequence for you: a level is not a label a college invents. It is a national statement about what you can do.
| Level | Qualification | What it says you can do |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Artisan certificate | Handle non-routine problems in a known trade |
| 4 | Craft certificate | Specialised tasks, responsibility for your own work |
| 5 | Certificate | Pull information together from several sources and act on it |
| 6 | Diploma | Specialised technical and theoretical depth in a field |
| 7 | Bachelor’s degree | Broad command of a body of knowledge, deep in parts |
| 8 | Postgraduate diploma | Advanced knowledge in a coherent new discipline |
| 9 | Master’s degree | Highly specialised knowledge applied to complex problems |
| 10 | Doctorate | Create new knowledge through original research |
Learning is measured in credits, where one credit is ten notional hours of learning. That is the unit a university uses when it works out how much of your diploma it can count — see After Skillwave.
Where our programmes sit
Every programme we offer is a Level 5 or Level 6 award. Nothing here is a degree — degrees are Level 7 and are awarded by universities.
| Programme | Level | Assessed by |
|---|---|---|
| Diploma in Nursing | 6 | Nursing Council of Kenya |
| Diploma in Perioperative Theatre Technology (DPOTT) | 6 | TVET CDACC |
| Diploma in Community Health | 6 | TVET CDACC |
| Diploma in ICT | 6 | TVET CDACC |
| Certificate in Perioperative Theatre Technology | 5 | TVET CDACC |
| Certificate in Community Health | 5 | TVET CDACC |
| Health Services Support | 5 | TVET CDACC |
| Care Giver II and other NITA courses | Short course | NITA |
| Bridging Courses | Not a KNQF award | Improves your KCSE subject grades |
Notice the pattern: a certificate is Level 5, a diploma is Level 6. That single fact explains most of the entry-grade differences on the next page.
The other way onto the ladder: NITA trade tests
Everything above assumes you have a KCSE grade to start from. Many capable people do not — and the ladder has a second entrance for them.
The National Industrial Training Authority certifies practical skill in a trade through trade tests: Grade III first, then Grade II, then Grade I as competence grows. They are open entry — no KCSE grade is required, only demonstrated competence and, for the higher grades, experience at the grade below.
This is how a skilled person with nothing on paper gets onto the framework. If you learned your trade on the job, through apprenticeship or in the jua kali sector, Recognition of Prior Learning lets that experience be assessed and certified rather than ignored. A trade test certificate is a national qualification: it can be shown to an employer, used when bidding for work, and built on towards Level 4 and Level 5 awards and beyond.
Skillwave is a registered NITA centre and an approved trade testing centre, and our Care Giver II and other NITA courses are assessed by NITA rather than TVET CDACC. Which trades and levels we test for changes with NITA’s schedule — ask the office and we will tell you what is running.
Two things the framework does for you
It makes the ladder climbable
Because the levels are national, a Level 5 certificate is a recognised step towards a Level 6 diploma, and a Level 6 diploma is a recognised step towards a Level 7 degree. You are not starting again each time. This is why our certificate programmes are worth taking seriously even if a diploma is your real goal — and why an E or a D− is not the end of the road.
It makes foreign qualifications legible
If you studied outside Kenya, KNQA issues a Certificate of Qualifications Equivalence that places your award on the Kenyan ladder. If you plan to study or work abroad, the same alignment works in your favour — your Kenyan level has a recognised international meaning.
Before you enrol anywhere, for any programme: check the institution is TVETA-accredited and the qualification is registered on the KNQF. If it is not, credit transfer later is not guaranteed — and that is an expensive thing to discover in year three.
Where this comes from
We publish our sources so you can check us.
- KNQA — Kenya National Qualifications Framework, levels and descriptors: knqa.go.ke/qualifications-framework
- KNQA — Certificate of Qualifications Equivalence: knqa.go.ke
- KNQA — national qualifications coding standards (ISCED alignment): knqa.go.ke
- NITA — trade testing (Grades III, II and I) and testing centres: nita.go.ke
- KNQA — NITA qualifications on the KNQF: knqa.go.ke
Last reviewed 11 August 2026. Rules change — if you are reading this well after that date, confirm with the authority named before you act on it.
This is a guide, not the rule book. Kenya’s qualification rules change, and the regulator always wins. Every page here names its sources and the date we last checked them — verify anything that decides your money or your career directly with the authority named, or ask us and we will check it with you.
Still not sure where you fit?
Send one short form with your grade and we will tell you exactly what you qualify for — on the phone, with a person.