Act No. 9 of 1997 empowers the Council “to establish awards in technical education which are consistent in standard and comparable to related awards at national and international levels”.

NACTE awards are known as National Technical Awards (NTA) and adopt a Competence-based (CBET) modular system (credit-based).

The Council has to set qualifications standards for the awards, hence the objectives.

The NTA are designed to testify that the holder of the award is able to apply competently the knowledge and skills described in the relevant occupational sector.

The NTA system has seven levels linked to a three level system of VETA, known as National Vocational Training Awards (NVTA), to provide a ten level framework of Technical and Vocational (TVET) qualifications.

Each NTA qualification has a broad competence level descriptor.

TVET Qualifications Framework

Level	Award
NVTA 1	Certificate of Competence – Level I
NVTA 2	Certificate of Competence – Level II
NVTA 3	Certificate of Competence – Level III
NTA    4	Basic Technician Certificate
NTA    5	Technician Certificate
NTA    6	Ordinary Diploma
NTA    7	Higher Diploma
NTA    8	Bachelors Degree
NTA    9	Masters Degree
NTA  10	Doctor of Philosophy

Competence Level Descriptors

Level	Competence Descriptor
NTA    4Basic Technician Certificate	Apply skills and knowledge at routine level.
NTA    5Technician Certificate	Apply skills and knowledge in a range of activities, some of which are non-routine and be able to assume operational responsibilities.
NTA    6Ordinary Diploma	Apply skills and knowledge in a broad range of work activities, most of which are non-routine.
NTA    7Higher Diploma	Apply knowledge, skills and understanding in a broad range of complex technical activities, a high degree of personal responsibility and some responsibility for work of others.
NTA    8Bachelors Degree	Apply knowledge, skills and understanding in a wide and unpredictable variety of contexts with substantial personal responsibility, responsibility for the work of others and responsibility for the allocation of resources, policy, planning, execution and evaluation.
NTA    9Masters Degree	Display mastery of a complex and specialized area of knowledge and skills, employing knowledge and understanding to conduct research or advanced technical or professional activity, able to work autonomously and in complex and unpredictable situations.
NTA  10Doctor of Philosophy	Apply knowledge and understanding and do advanced research resulting into significant and original contributions to a specialised field, demonstrate a command of methodological issues and engaging in critical dialogue with peers, able to work autonomously and in complex and unpredictable situations.

Description of Awards

Intermediate Professional Awards

NTA    4Basic Technician Certificate	Part of Technician Certificate Programme; a bridging stage to equip leavers of VETA, Academic and Technical Secondary Schools with basic intermediate professional competencies.
NTA    5Technician Certificate	Stage for imparting key intermediate professional competencies; graduates may proceed to study for Ordinary Diploma.
NTA    6Ordinary Diploma	Stage for imparting full intermediate professional competencies; graduates may proceed to study for Bachelors Degree.

Undergraduate Awards

NTA    7Higher Diploma	Part of Bachelors DegreeAward providing an exit to students who may need a break before completing the degree programme or have failed at the final degree stage.
NTA    8Bachelors Degree	Stage for imparting full professional competencies.Graduates may proceed to do a Masters Degree.

Graduate Awards

NTA    9Masters Degree	A stage for professional specialization; graduates may proceed for Doctor of Philosophy studies.
NTA  10Doctor of Philosophy	A stage for contributing to the existing body of knowledge through applied research; graduates may proceed with life–long learning.

Comparative Training Duration

Year	Technical Qualification	Secondary / University Qualification
1	Basic Technician Certificate	Form V
2	Technician Certificate	Form V I
3	Ordinary Diploma	University Year 1
4	Part of Higher Diploma	University Year 2
5	Higher Diploma	University Year 3
6	Bachelor Degree	BSc Degree

Credit Values

A credit is an award made to learners in recognition of learning achievement, expressed through estimation of notional (average) learning time.

A notional time is a period spent by an average student in learning about something towards realizing a learning outcome.

1 credit = 10 notional hours.

NACTE Credit System

NTA Level	Minimum Total Credits	Min CurrentNTA Level Credits	Max Credits From LowestNTA Level
4	120	120	0   (Nil)
5	120	120	0   (NTA 4)
6	240	120	30 (NTA 5)
7	360	120	30 (NTA 5)
8	480	120	30 (NTA 5)
9	180	150	30 (NTA 8)
10	540	360	30 (NTA 8)