PADI ASSISTANT INSTRUCTOR...

Many Instructor candidates go from directly to PADI Instructor, but there is an option that can be better for your professional development and your scheduling 

The Assistant Instructor Course is the first half of your Instructor Development Course is your first step toward becoming a PADI Professional.

Taking your PADI Assistant Instructor course as a stand-alone course is a great way of finding out if being an Instructor is really what you want to do. Taking the full IDC Assistant Instructor+OWSI combined requires taking a longer period of work and a larger investment. So this is a great way to manage time commitments .

PADI ASSISTANT INSTRUCTOR (PADI AI)

This course is typically run over 3- 4 days, and after the course, an Assistant Instructor can assist Instructors more thoroughly on courses and can teach the PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy specialty course and Project AWARE Speciality course independently.

PADI OPEN WATER SCUBA INSTRUCTOR (PADI OWSI / INSTRUCTOR)

A PADI OWSI can teach all PADI Recreational Courses up to PADI Divemaster level. The pre-requisite for becoming a PADI OWSI is to be a PADI Assistant Instructor!!!

The PADI OWSI course is run on the PADI Instructor Development Course (IDC), a 14-day course that teaches you to be a PADI Instructor. The IDC includes both the PADI Assistant Instructor (PADI AI) and PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor (PADI OWSI) components, and candidates must pass the 2-day PADI Instructor Exam (IE) exam after the IDC to be certified as PADI Instructor.

Already a PADI AI?If you are already a PADI AI (ie you did the PADI AI course over 4-5days sometime before the IDC) then you will have to re-do it the PADI AI over the IDC, but often the price of the IDC is reduced by the price of the AI course so that you don’t lose out financially.

To enrol in the Assistant Instructor course, you must have:
A PADI Divemaster certification or equivalent
6 months as a certified diver
At least 60 logged dives to enrol in an IDC
100 dives to attend an IE.
Emergency First Response Primary and Secondary Care (CPR and First Aid) training within the past 24 months.
A medical statement signed by a physician within the last 12 months
You also need to be an Emergency First Response Instructor, but you can earn this rating during your instructor training.

How long is the course?
The basic AI takes 3 -4 days, but with all the add-ons, most people take a minimum of 4 days

What will you learn?
Over a minimum of 3 - 4 days, the AI course teaches you to conduct all PADI core courses. You’ll be able to organise and present information, conduct skill development sessions, and control open water dives. You become a better public speaker and develop confidence in demonstrating skills while watching out for student diver safety.

Key topics include:
PADI Standards and Procedures for courses you can teach with in water workshops
Learning, Instruction and the PADI System
Risk Management and Diver Safety
The Business of Diving and your role as an instructor
Marketing Diving and Sales