Nautilus International is reminding members in the yacht sector to carefully check that any training provider is officially approved before enrolling on a course, after a member recently lost an employment opportunity due to an invalid certificate.
The member contacted the Union after discovering that a certificate they had obtained from a training provider was not recognised by the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). The member had been due to join a yacht this week but was informed shortly before joining that the qualification was considered unacceptable as the school where they had studied was not an approved training provider. The member later discovered that the training centre had reportedly closed two to three years ago.
The MCA maintains strict lists of approved training providers in the UK and overseas, which determine whether certificates are accepted for applications such as Certificates of Competency (CoC) or Notices of Eligibility (NoE). Qualifications issued by unapproved providers will be rejected during these processes by flag states, including the MCA.
Nautilus head of yacht sector Derek Byrne says the case highlights the importance of carrying out due diligence before committing time and money to training.
‘Members are strongly advised to check the MCA’s official list of Approved Training Providers before booking any course and to verify the provider’s current status. Accreditation can change, and providers may lose approval over time.
‘If a certificate is not recognised by the relevant authority, the training may have to be repeated at an approved provider.’
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