How to Register Your VTC as a CDACC Assessment Centre: Requirements, Fees and What Assessors Will Look For

5 min read

A VTC that trains for CDACC but cannot assess its own trainees is only doing half the job. Its candidates travel to another centre, sit in unfamiliar workshops, and depend on someone else’s timetable. Becoming a registered assessment centre fixes that, and it is less complicated than many managers think.

Here is what the process involves, based on CDACC’s own service charter and accreditation form.

Step 1: Get your TVETA licence in order

CDACC does not register an assessment centre on its own say-so. Its service charter says the application must include a TVET Authority licence indicating the accredited CDACC courses.

That means two things. Your institution must be licensed by TVETA, and the specific CDACC courses you want to assess must appear on that licence. If you have added new courses since your last licence, update it first. A centre cannot be registered to assess a course it is not licensed to train.

Step 2: Apply through the CDACC portal

The application is made through the CDACC portal (portal.tvetcdacc.go.ke). The charter sets the terms:

Item	What the charter says
Where to apply	The CDACC portal
Fee	KSh 10,000
Key attachment	TVETA licence showing the accredited CDACC courses
Processing time	Within 3 working days

Three working days is fast. In practice, delays usually come from incomplete documents, not from CDACC.

Step 3: Be ready for the accreditation criteria

CDACC’s accreditation form lists 17 criteria under six headings. For each one, the centre names the evidence it will show at a quality audit. This is the real work, and it is worth preparing before you apply.

Area	What the centre must have	Evidence to prepare
Management	Clear structure and lines of authority; managed assessment activities; quality assurance	Organisation chart; QA procedures
Physical resources	Enough tools, equipment and materials; equipment and buildings that meet safety requirements	Equipment register; maintenance records; health and safety policy and audits
Human resource	Enough competent internal assessors and verifiers; a way to bring in more; staff development	Staff profiles; contracts or MoUs; training policy
Candidate support	An RPL assessment system; counselling; an appeals and complaints system	RPL procedure; counselling procedure; appeals procedure
Assessment	Assessment and verification done to CDACC guidelines	Assessment and verification procedures
Candidate records	Organised registration and results records; secure storage; a system for acting on external verifiers’ findings	Portfolio and records procedures; access arrangements; internal QA system

The form also asks you to list, for every unit you want to assess, the internal assessors and verifiers, their qualifications and years of relevant experience.

Where most VTCs fall short

Three gaps come up again and again.

Assessors and verifiers. Every unit needs qualified internal assessors and verifiers. Small VTCs often have one instructor per trade, which leaves no one to verify. An MoU with a nearby VTC or TTI to share verifiers solves this cheaply.

Written procedures. Many centres do the right things but have nothing on paper. RPL, appeals, counselling and records procedures can be short documents. They just need to exist, be followed and be filed.

Equipment records. It is not enough to own the tools. The form asks for equipment registers and maintenance records. Start a simple register now: item, quantity, condition and date last serviced.

Once you are registered

Registration is the start, not the finish. The charter also sets out what comes next:

• Candidate registration: register every candidate accurately within the registration window, and pay fees, which depend on the level and number of units.
• Results: CDACC commits to release results within 8 weeks of the last paper.
• Queries: assessment queries must come through the proper channel within 30 working days of results.
• Result slips: issued within two months of results.

CDACC has also directed institutions to name an Assessment Centre Coordinator. Education News reported that institutions with more than 400 candidates must appoint a dedicated coordinator, while smaller ones can give the role to the Assessment Centre Officer.

A note for counties

Counties that run many VTCs can make registration easier for all of them. A county-level template pack (organisation chart, QA procedure, RPL and appeals procedures, equipment register) saves each centre weeks. A shared pool of assessors and verifiers across nearby VTCs solves the staffing gap. And budgeting the KSh 10,000 fee per centre is a small cost for letting trainees be assessed at home.

The bottom line

The fee is modest and the turnaround is quick. What takes time is getting the evidence ready: the TVETA licence with the right courses, enough assessors and verifiers, and written procedures that match what you already do. Prepare those first, and the portal application is the easy part.

Key takeaways

• CDACC registers assessment centres through its portal, for KSh 10,000, within 3 working days.
• You need a TVETA licence that lists the CDACC courses you want to assess.
• The accreditation form sets 17 criteria across management, resources, staff, candidate support, assessment and records.
• Every unit needs named internal assessors and verifiers with their qualifications.
• Common gaps are verifiers, written procedures and equipment records; all can be fixed before applying.
• After registration, centres must register candidates on time; results follow within 8 weeks of the last paper.

Sources

• TVET CDACC Service Delivery Charter, TVET CDACC
• Application form for accreditation of assessment center, TVET CDACC
• TVETS 07:2022 CBET Assessment Centre — Requirements and guidelines, TVETA
• TVET institutions ordered to nominate assessment centre coordinators, Education News

Also read: RPL assessment under CDACC and What CDACC assessors actually check.

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