Five Units, One Certificate: Earning Level 5 (Craft) Through RPL

By Delight Technical College | School of Tailoring, Fashion & Design- RPL | 2026

Level 5 (Craft) is where a skilled tailor begins to look like a professional designer and producer. In the Delight Technical College Fashion Design Learning Guide, it is earned after Term Three, and it combines practical garment skills with design, pattern-making and workplace skills such as communication and digital literacy. Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) gives experienced practitioners a way to be recognised for much of this level without repeating what they already know.

🪜 The Level 5 Pathway at a Glance

Unit	What It Builds
Unit 8: Digital Literacy	Using computers, phones and online tools for work
Unit 9: Communication Skills	Speaking, writing and listening effectively with clients and colleagues
Unit 10: Fashion Design and Sketching	Developing and presenting design ideas on paper
Unit 11: Pattern Construction and Grading Principles	Drafting, adapting and grading patterns
Unit 12: Children’s Wear	Designing and making safe, comfortable garments for children

🎓 Entry Requirements and What Comes Next

The learning guide states that entry to Level 5 is KCSE D, or a Level 4 certificate. After Level 5, the pathway continues to Level 6 (Diploma), for which the stated entry requirement is KCSE C- or a Level 5 certificate.

⚖️ A Mix of Technical and Workplace Skills

Level 5 is different from the first two levels because it includes units that are not purely about sewing:

• Digital Literacy and Communication Skills are skills many people develop through running a business or working with clients
• Fashion Design and Sketching and Pattern Construction and Grading Principles are creative and technical skills that self-taught designers often build over many years
• Children’s Wear is a specialised garment skill that can be demonstrated through a portfolio and practical work

Because of this mix, RPL candidates often find that they are already strong in several units, even if they have never studied them formally.

🗂️ Planning One Portfolio for Five Units

• Digital Literacy- screenshots, spreadsheets and examples of online work
• Communication Skills- client messages, order forms and statements from clients or employers
• Fashion Design and Sketching- sketchbooks, flat drawings and photographs of finished designs
• Pattern Construction and Grading Principles- labelled patterns, size charts and graded sets
• Children’s Wear- photographs, orders and statements from parents or schools

📋 Possible Outcomes

• Competent in all five units- you may be recognised for the Level 5 qualification, subject to the awarding body’s arrangements
• Competent in some units- you receive recognition for those units and study only the rest
• Not yet competent- you receive feedback, train for the gaps and are reassessed

🚀 Why Level 5 Matters

• It marks the step from skilled maker to designer and producer
• It prepares you for the Level 6 units, including business, research and management skills
• It strengthens your credibility with employers and clients
• It brings you closer to a Diploma in Fashion Design

🔗 How the Five Units Support Each Other

Level 5 tells one connected story. A design from Unit 10 becomes a pattern in Unit 11, which becomes a children’s garment in Unit 12. Throughout, Communication Skills help you work with clients, and Digital Literacy helps you record, share and market the work. If your portfolio shows these links, with one project followed from sketch to pattern to finished garment, you present a convincing picture of integrated skill rather than five separate claims.

“Level 5 is where a tailor becomes a designer. RPL ensures that the journey is measured by what you can do, not by how long you sat in a classroom.”

💡 Ready to explore Level 5 through RPL? Call Delight Technical College on +254 722 533 771 or visit Muindi Mbingu Street, Nairobi.

📍 Delight Technical College | Muindi Mbingu Street, Opposite Jevanjee Gardens, Nairobi | +254 722 533 771 | www.delight.ac.ke