Your chief stew hands you a list of things to book before the winter: STCW refresher, ENG1, Food Safety Level 2, GUEST Introduction, WSET Level 1. You notice they are booked through four different organisations, cost wildly different amounts and arrive as four completely different-looking pieces of paper. That is not disorganisation — it is the actual structure of the industry.
Four Different Worlds
| Certificate | Who sits behind it | What kind of body it is |
|---|---|---|
| STCW Basic Safety, Advanced Fire Fighting, PSCRB | MCA (or another flag administration), delivered by approved schools | Flag-state regulator implementing an IMO convention |
| ENG1 seafarer medical | MCA-approved doctor | Flag-state medical fitness standard |
| GUEST units and the interior CoC | IAMI, delivered by approved Training Providers | Industry accreditation body |
| Food Safety Level 2 / Level 3 | Awarding organisations such as Highfield or RSPH | Regulated vocational awarding bodies |
| Wine qualifications | WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) | Independent vocational awarding body |
The PYA: Advocate, Not Accreditor
The Professional Yachting Association represents crew. It lobbies, it supports, it publishes guidance, it contributed to the development of the GUEST framework and it argues the case for interior crew being treated as professionals. What it does not do is accredit GUEST or issue your CoC — that is IAMI. This distinction is the single most commonly repeated error in interior recruitment adverts, and getting it right marks you out as someone who has actually read the framework.
The MCA: Regulator, Not Trainer
The MCA is the UK flag-state regulator. It sets and enforces the STCW requirements that make you legally permitted to work aboard, and it underpins the ENG1 medical. Almost every yacht job advert that says "STCW required" is really saying "we need you to be legally allowed to sail". The MCA has no involvement in running GUEST, and there is no MCA interior Certificate of Competency in the way there is for deck and engineering officers.
Awarding Bodies: Neither of the Above
Highfield, RSPH and WSET are awarding organisations. They set a syllabus, approve centres to teach it, and award a qualification that is recognised well beyond yachting — a WSET Level 2 means the same thing in a London restaurant as it does on a 60m in Antibes. They have no yacht-specific authority at all, which is precisely why GUEST recognises some of them as equivalents rather than duplicating them.
Onboard Notes
- When someone asks "who certifies interior crew?", the honest answer is: several bodies, for different things, and none of them individually.
- Keep the four categories straight in your head when budgeting — you are paying four different organisations, not one.
- Nothing in this lesson certifies you. Verify current requirements with an approved GUEST Training Provider.