A certification has different definitions and different expectations. In the corporate world a certification might mean that you attended a seminar on a particular topic for a day and here is your framed wall plaque as a reward for attending the seminar. In an academic sense it can mean more mastery than a day seminar. Perhaps you are a microsoft certified solutions developer. That's pretty difficult to get and you truly are an expert.
In the sailing world unfortunately because of differing standards from school to school, a certification can mean "certificate of attendance" or certificate of competence". No one really knows. For example - some times a 104 type bareboat certification can be gained in 4-5 days of instruction. This will never qualify for a bareboat charter rental as a skipper from any yacht charter company. So at NauticEd we don't put too much credence into seeing other sailing education bodies certifications. And neither do Yacht Charter Companies. Yacht Charter Companies require a resume of documented on-the-water experience.
The NauticEd certifications follow our Ranks and Levels.
Our Certification Ranks are:
- Qualified Crew Member
- Skipper Small Keelboat
- Skipper (Large Keelboats 26 ft +)
- Bareboat Charter Master
- Captain (recreational activities (non commercial))
Levels reflect the amount of on-the-water experience you have logged into your logbook.
See this article that explains Ranks and Levels:
http://support.nauticed.org/solution/articles/44000501427-ranks-and-levels
You can not gain Certification Rank with NauticEd without listing an appropriate amount of on-the-water experience as master of the vessel into your electronic logbook AND having completed the appropriate theory coursework.
THUS a yacht charter company knows when you present a certain NauticEd Certification Rank to them, then that means you are truly qualified to the name of the Rank.