1 Four different organisations
| Who | What they do | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Standards bodies | Write and publish the standards | ISO (with IEC for some), BSI as the UK national standards body |
| Training providers | Design and run courses | BSI, LRQA, NQA, DNV, Bywater, Batalas… |
| Certification schemes | Certify courses and/or register individuals | CQI and IRCA, PECB, Exemplar Global, IBITGQ |
| Certification bodies | Audit organisations and certify their management systems | Accredited in the UK by UKAS |
ISO itself states that it does not perform certification or issue certificates. So there is no such thing as an “official ISO qualification” — there are course certificates and auditor registrations issued by schemes and providers, for ISO standards.
2 What you actually get
- A course certificate — proof you attended and passed a course. If the course is certified by a scheme (for example “CQI and IRCA certified”), the certificate carries that scheme’s recognition.
- An individual registration or credential — for example IRCA Auditor or Lead Auditor, or PECB Lead Auditor. This needs the course plus evidence of audit (or project) experience, and is renewed periodically with CPD.
3 Choosing
- Standard — the one your organisation uses or your target employer asks for. See all standards.
- Level — foundation, internal auditor, lead auditor, implementer, conversion or transition. See the qualification matrix.
- Scheme — CQI and IRCA is the most common on UK auditor courses; PECB is common for information security, privacy and AI. See certification schemes.
- Provider and format — compare in the course finder.