The definition of a bookkeeper is broad and wide and open to interpretation.
Each country can have its own standards and anyone can call themselves a bookkeeper while not having any qualifications or knowledge of the industry.
The method of obtaining a bookkeeping qualification vary.
A person can to pay a fee and not have to sit exams, obtain a qualification based on your experience, sit examinations without supervision, or sit examinations fully supervised in an exam hall or in a computer environment training exam centre.
In many countries there are competing bookkeeper associations, but their qualifications are achieved in different ways and their knowledge levels can be different.