You are three weeks into your first season and a crew agent tells you to go and get your "PYA-accredited GUEST certificate". A stewardess in the crew mess insists the MCA issues it. A training website calls it a "licence". All three are wrong, and if you book a course on the strength of that confusion you will spend money you do not have on training you may not need.
The Accreditation Chain
GUEST is the Guidelines for Unified Excellence in Service Training — a structured framework of interior units, levels and Certificates of Competency for yacht interior crew. It is governed and accredited by IAMI, the International Association of Maritime Institutions. IAMI owns the syllabus, approves the Training Providers permitted to deliver it, and issues the GUEST Certificate of Competency (CoC).
| Body | Role in GUEST | What it does NOT do |
|---|---|---|
| IAMI | Governs and accredits the GUEST Program; approves Training Providers; issues the GUEST CoC | Does not employ you; does not issue STCW certificates |
| Approved Training Provider | Delivers and assesses the units; verifies your training record | Cannot invent, waive or "fast-track" units |
| PYA | Partner and advocate for crew; helped shape GUEST and champions interior professionalism | Does not accredit GUEST. Never write "PYA-accredited" |
| MCA | UK flag-state regulator behind STCW certification and the ENG1 framework | Does not run GUEST; issues no interior CoC |
Why the Distinction Matters
- A course advertised as "PYA-accredited" is being described incorrectly. Ask the provider one plain question: are you an IAMI-approved GUEST Training Provider? If the answer is vague, walk away.
- Only an approved provider can assess you and submit you for a GUEST unit or CoC. Revision, reading and rehearsal — including everything on xplor — is preparation, not certification.
- The GUEST CoC is an industry certificate of competency, not a flag-state licence. It carries real weight with captains, chief stews and management companies, but no port state control officer will ever ask to see it.
What This Course Is — Said Plainly
These xplor lessons are preparatory study only. They confer no GUEST unit, no Certificate of Competency and no regulated award. Their job is to make sure that when you walk into an approved provider you already own the vocabulary, the structure and the standard being asked of you — so you spend your course days being assessed, not catching up.
A Moving Target
Unit numbers, sea-service figures and prerequisites are set by IAMI/GUEST and have changed more than once. Treat any progression chart you find online — including a printout on a crew mess noticeboard — as historical until you have checked it against the current one.
Onboard Notes
- Say "IAMI-accredited GUEST" or simply "GUEST CoC". Correct crew who say "PYA-accredited" — kindly, and once.
- Before you pay a deposit, confirm the school appears on the current IAMI/GUEST approved provider list.
- Confirm the current progression chart with GUEST administration or an approved Training Provider before you plan a single booking.