Professionalism You Already Practise: RPL and Work Ethics in Kenyan Tailoring
By Delight Technical College | School of Tailoring, Fashion & Design- RPL | 2026
Some of the most important skills in fashion have nothing to do with needles or patterns. They are about how you treat clients, how you handle money, how you keep promises and how you behave when no one is watching. Employers consistently say they value honesty and reliability as much as technical ability. The unit Work Ethics and Practices recognises these qualities, and Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) can recognise the professional habits you have already built.
⚖️ What Work Ethics and Practices Covers
In a fashion workplace, work ethics include:
- Honesty- quoting fair prices, using the materials you promised and admitting mistakes
- Reliability- arriving on time, meeting deadlines and keeping appointments
- Respect- treating clients, colleagues, suppliers and apprentices with courtesy
- Confidentiality- protecting client information, measurements and designs
- Accountability- taking responsibility for your work and correcting errors
- Safety and health- keeping a safe workplace for yourself and others
- Integrity in design- respecting other people’s original work and giving credit where it is due
🎓 Where This Unit Sits in the Delight Learning Guide
Unit 13: Work Ethics and Practices
- Module IV | Level 6 (Diploma) | Term Four
- The first unit of Level 6, and one that shapes how every other unit is practised
🧵 Ethics in Everyday Tailoring
Experienced tailors face ethical decisions every week:
- A client wants a cheaper fabric but expects the same result. Do you explain the trade-offs honestly?
- A garment is damaged in your workshop. Do you tell the client, fix it and accept the cost?
- A client asks you to copy another designer’s original work exactly. How do you respond?
- An apprentice is working late without proper supervision. Do you step in?
How you answer these questions is exactly what the unit explores.
🗂️ Evidence of Professional Behaviour
Professional habits show over time, so the best evidence comes from people who have observed you:
- Letters from employers confirming your punctuality, honesty and reliability
- Statements from long-standing clients about how you treat them
- Records showing that you complete orders on time
- Evidence of safe working practices, such as a tidy, well-organised workshop
- Records of apprentices or assistants you have supervised fairly
🗣️ Questions an Assessor May Ask
- Describe a time when you made a mistake on a client’s garment. What did you do?
- How do you protect the privacy of your clients?
- What would you do if a colleague was being treated unfairly at work?
- How do you decide whether to accept an order you cannot complete on time?
🧑🤝🧑 Treating Apprentices Fairly
How you treat people who work for you or learn from you is a clear test of professional ethics. Fair treatment includes teaching real skills, giving credit for good work, keeping working hours reasonable, maintaining safe conditions and paying what you have promised on time. A short statement from a former apprentice or assistant, saying what they learned and how they were treated, is some of the most powerful evidence you can offer for this unit.
“Skills get you the job. Ethics keep you in it. A certificate that recognises both tells employers and clients something that a pattern or a stitch never can.”
💡 Already working with integrity? Ask Delight Technical College how RPL can recognise it. Call +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
