PADI Course Director Mohamed Hamed is the only resident Course Director in the Seychelles. His wealth of experience will ensure you get the best training possible. Mohamed isn’t there to teach you to pass the PADI Instructor Exam, he is there to teach you the skills you need to succeed and be confident as an instructor. Passing the PADI IE is easy, the real test is teaching your first course. If you choose to do the IDC with us, you and your future students will be glad you did.
The course will prepare you to succeed well beyond the Instructor Examination. During your IDC you will be given real-life examples of what a student may do, to prepare you for the unexpected. Mohamed’s extensive experience is what makes it possible for him to create these real-life scenarios for you to deal with as part of your Instructor development course.
Mohamed is Egyptian by birth, but has traveled the world in search of the best dives. He loves teaching and has followed every possible diving course himself to gain knowledge and skills in recreational diving, but also in technical diving. On top of that Mohamed loves to teach, and you can do many different Instructor specialty courses with him, so why not spend a few days after your IE to do some great Instructor Specialty courses, and perhaps even earn the Master Scuba Diver Trainer rating to be able to teach an interesting variety of specialty courses yourself.
You will feel at ease with Mohamed, he speaks English & Arabic, but on top of that he also speaks Russian, some German, and understands a lot more!
SMALL IDC CLASS SIZE
One of the huge advantages of choosing to do your PADI instructor course with us is the small class size that we GUARANTEE. You will not be in a class larger than 8, the average class size is just 4. Do not underestimate the value this represents to you. Since the whole course is focused on practicing your teaching techniques both in the classroom and in the water, a small group means that YOU get more practice. Watching other people practice does have quite a lot of value, you can learn as much from others as you can by playing the instructor role yourself, but there are limits.
Small class sizes will also avoid excessively long days. Generally, we start at 9AM and finish around 4PM with a break for lunch. An early finish will give you time to get your homework done, as well as having time for a good evening meal and a little relaxation.
When you ask Mohamed why you should do your PADI INSTRUCTOR DEVELOPMENT COURSE with him he says:
“Instructor candidates quickly gain the confidence to analyze situations and take a flexible approach to problem-solving. There is no one PADI way to do things, objectives can be achieved in many different ways. I want my instructor candidates to teach with the same open-minded, flexible approach that I have. The key to an enjoyable instructor course is discussion and plenty of it. Creating a relaxed informal atmosphere is step one when you want to encourage discussion. You won’t come out of my IDC having been taught how to do things my way, you will come out with the skills you need to teach well, YOUR way.”
THE IDC TRAINING PHILISOPHY
Successful IDC candidates after the PADI instructor exam
The PADI IDC and EFRI course is a six-day course. This is followed by the 2-day instructor exam, conducted by a PADI examiner.
We have an IDC scheduled 5 times a year. You need to be a Divemaster with a minimum of 100 logged dives to take the course. You are welcome to join for a fully customized IDC prep course a week before the course starts, to get some diving and practice. We work with you, to brush up your Divemaster skills and ensure you are fully prepared to start the IDC.
Our classroom has WiFi, Air Conditioning and right outside is the ocean for confined water training if necessary. We will usually be using the ocean!
The Ocean conditions are ideal for the Instructor Development Course almost year round. Beau Vallon bay has nice clear water and a large sandy area for practicing confined water presentations. During less ideal conditions we will be using a swimming pool. We then have a selection of open water sites within a 15-minute boat ride. We will go to a few different sites to give you practice at assessing a site for training purposes.
You will have fun dealing with the practice sessions Mohamed throws at you, he will keep you on your toes from the start of the day to end, always with a smile on his face. He is quick to praise your performance and explains your areas of weakness whilst giving you clear actions points which makes it easy for you to improve your performance next time.
Not many people enjoy having their performance analyzed and criticized, but this is an essential part of both the Divemaster and Instructor development course.
Mohamed’s interpersonal skills and extensive feedback training will give you a great head start in developing your training skills.
You will learn a lot from Mohamed’s feedback style, which is a skill every instructor needs to develop to have a successful and enjoyable career winning people’s respect and making many friends along the way.
What is the instructor development training like?
The focus of the IDC is to develop good teaching techniques and practices. In addition to learning how to effectively use the PADI system of education.
The course starts with a day in the classroom focusing on the orientation of the course and the PADI system and how to use it in a flexible manner to give your students the best possible training.
On the second day you will be taken through the dive skills circuit, and the PADI Standards and Procedures.
Around day 3 you will do a dive theory written exam to see what level you are at, while we still have to work on any issues you may have in that area.
The following days will be a mixture of workshops in the ocean/pool and classroom.
Over the years Course director Mohamed has demonstrated excellence in teaching dive theory effectively.
You will teach at least four confined water skill presentations and play the role of a student when the other instructor candidates are teaching theirs.
You will teach three classroom presentations.
And you will develop your rescue skills to demonstration quality level.
There are also a number of classroom sessions discussing the various PADI courses you will be qualified to teach, and of course how to market the courses and business-related techniques will be discussed.
WHAT WILL I DO, WHAT WILL I EARN, WHERE WILL I LIVE AS SCUBA INSTRUCTOR?
It’s hard to find a job that has as much variety and opportunity to travel as being a dive Instructor. One day you’ll introduce a family to the wonders of the underwater world with the PADI Open Water Diver course. A few days later it may be a couple of friends taking the Advanced Open Water Diver course with you. Have PADI Divemaster course students who are making a career change similar to the one you are thinking of. You’ll meet people from all walks of life, physicians, accountants, lawyers, police officers, software developers or farmers. Regardless of their backgrounds, your knowledge of the underwater world will be invaluable to them as they embark on new adventures, or perhaps working at a tropical dive resort to start their own new careers.
Whichever course you involve in, you want your students to learn how to dive safely, have fun, and come back for more or recommend you to their friends and family.
The typical day of a dive instructor? It is basically impossible, there really is no such thing as a typical work day as a PADI Instructor! Your office is ever changing, you colleagues and clients too. Rain or shine you are spending time with people who are enjoying the experience of lifetime, people who are forgetting their every day worries, and you are their guide.
The cost of becoming a dive instructor is small compared to many other professional qualifications. You should find that it takes less than three months to recoup the initial investment you make. This can of course vary from operation to operation, island to island and country to country. Many places experience significant seasonal highs and lows. Depending upon the time of year, finding a job should not be overly difficult. Globally the opportunities for PADI Instructors are countless. An instructor with an open mind toward travel should have little difficulty finding the job that is right. Speaking more than one language, and other valuable business skills opens even more doors of course.
What to expect at the PADI instructor exam (IE)
The PADI instructor exam or IE is usually spread over 2 days.
Many people say that IE stands for “It’s easy” which in all truth it should be if you picked the right IDC center and course director.
The exam is conducted by a PADI Instructor Examiner, the instructor exam schedule can be found here.
The IE is split into 4 components:
- Written Exams
- Classroom presentation
- Confined water teaching
- Open water teaching
WRITTEN EXAMS
The written exams are split into two sections:
- Standards and Procedures – This is an open book exam with 50 multiple choice questions. You have 90 minutes and you can use your instructor manual and guide to teaching to find the answers. The pass mark is 75%. It is a pass/fail exam. If you get below 75% you will have to return to a later IE to retake the whole written exams section. The cost is around Euro 200.
- Dive Theory – Has five sections. Physics, Physiology, Equipment, Skills and the environment and recreation dive planner. You have 90 minutes to answer 12 multiple choice questions in each section, with a total of 60 questions. The pass mark is 75% for each section. If you get less than 75% in one of the five sections you will be allowed to retake that section later in the IE. If you fail in 2 or more sections, or you fail the retake, you will have to attend a later PADI Instructor Exam and repeat all written exams again. The fee to retake the IE is approximately Euro 200.
You are allowed to use a calculator the PADI RDP table and PADI ERDPml.
CLASSROOM PRESENTATION
The classroom presentation is where you demonstrate your ability to use the PADI educational materials to assist students who are having trouble understanding a concept from the knowledge development portion of a PADI course. This means, explaining the answer to one question from a PADI knowledge review from either the Open Water Diver, Advanced Open Water Diver, Rescue Diver, or the Divemaster course, er even the Peak Performance Buoyancy, Project AWARE or AWARE coral reef conservation specialty courses.
The presentation should be approximately 4-8 minutes long depending on the complexity of the question you have been assigned.
You will use PADI educational materials such as lesson guides and manuals in a classroom setting, your ‘students’ will be other IE candidates. One of the focuses is your ability to not only effectively use the PADI materials, but to interact with your students in a meaningful way by asking thought-provoking questions. You will also need to give real-life examples to aid their understanding of the given topic. In the IDC you are made familiar with the scoring system to help you score highly in this section.
To pass you need to score approximately 70% of the available points. If you do not pass with your first presentation you are allowed a second attempt with a different question.
CONFINED WATER TEACHING PRESENTATION
The confined water section of the exam involves two things:
- Teaching one skill from a PADI course. It could be from the Open Water Diver course, Advanced Open Water Diver course, Rescue Diver course or Peak Performance Buoyancy specialty. You will brief and then demonstrate the skill. You will then have 2-3 ‘students’ (other IE candidates) perform the skill for you. They will be assigned deliberate errors to make by the examiner. It is your job to identify and correct these errors. You then debrief. To pass you need to score a 3.4 (approx 68% of available marks) during the IDC you will become very familiar with the scoring system and the format you need to use to teach in confined water effectively.
- Demonstration quality skills. You will be asked to demonstrate 5 basic scuba skills. The five skills will be randomly selected from the 20 basic scuba skills. The CESA is guaranteed to be one of them.
OPEN WATER TEACHING PRESENTATION
The open water section of the exam also involves two things:
- Teaching two skills from a PADI course. This also could be from the Open Water Diver course, Advanced Open Water Diver course, Rescue Diver course or Peak Performance Buoyancy specialty. You will brief the skills and then have some ‘students’ (other IE candidates) perform the skills for you. They will be assigned deliberate errors to make by the examiner. And it is your job to identify and correct these errors. You then debrief. The pass mark is a minimum score of 3.4 (approx 68% of available marks) during the IDC you will become very familiar with the scoring system and the format you need to use to teach in open water effectively.
- A rescue demonstration. You will demonstrate rescue exercise 7 as though teaching it to rescue diver students. This means doing it slowly and clearly. You will be assigned to either do it using the mouth to mouth method or the mouth to pocket mask method.
The Instructor Development Course and EFR instructor course is run over 6 days. It is immediately followed by the PADI instructor exam conducted over 2 days. If you are not doing the divemaster internship with us before the IDC, planning to arrive 4-7 days before the IDC and joining for the IDC prep course will allow you to do some dives, brush up on skills & knowledge, and acclimatize before the course starts. Give yourself a few days after the IE to relax and perhaps do some specialty instructor training is a good idea and a great investment if you have the time.
IDC Prerequisites – To become a dive instructor:
There are a number of certifications and a minimum amount of experience you need before you do an Instructor Development Course and PADI Instructor Exam.
Other than being a PADI Divemaster (or equivalent with another training agency), you need to have 100 logged prior to the start of the PADI Dive instructor course.
0 to HERO. With just one trip to the Seychelles on a tourist visa you are allowed to stay 90 consecutive days in the country. So you can join us, learn to dive, and continue dive, dive, dive, and follow the PADI courses needed to become a PAD diving Instructor in just 3 months!
PREREQUISITES
To enroll in the PADI instructor development course you must be:
Certified as a PADI Divemaster or equivalent with another training agency.
Proof of 100 logged dives
Have a PADI Medical Form signed by a doctor within the last 12 months
Have EFR or CPR and First Aid from another agency within the last 12 months.
In addition, you should spend time reviewing the materials from the Open Water, Advanced Open Water (especially the RDPml/computer diver chapters), Rescue and Divemaster.
Now THAT YOU HAVE PASSED THE PADI INSTRUCTOR EXAM
You are qualified to:
Teaching Status Open Water Scuba Instructors are authorized to teach the following PADI courses & programs:
Scuba Diver/Open Water Diver
Adventure Diver/Advanced Open Water Diver
Rescue Diver
Divemaster
Skin Diver and Discover Snorkeling
Discover Scuba Diving
PADI Seal Team and Bubblemaker
ReActivate and Discover Local Diving
Peak Performance Buoyancy
Project AWARE Specialty
AWARE – Coral Reef Conservation
In addition, you can join to earn the Specialty Instructor rating for the following courses:
Deep Diver
Night Diver
Sidemount Diver
Care for Children
Emergency Oxygen
Aware Shark Conservation Diver
Enriched Air Diver
Any questions? Please contact Mohamed by WhatsApp +248 2787118
