A few certifications are required to become a diver. As a part of basic training,beginners are taken by the instructors a few metres down for their first taste of diving. Those getting a CMAS (Confederation Mondiale Des Activites Subaquatiques – World Underwater Federation) certification do a one-star course for the first level. They are trained to be self-sufficient in the water and equipped with all the practical skills to be safe and understand the dangers they can be exposed to while diving. Then they do the two-star course to be rescue divers,and then a three-star course to be dive masters. About a 100 dives have to be logged before one can apply for an instructor’s course.
For a PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) certificate, trainees start with an open-water course, a five-day programme as per which they have four to five sessions in confined water and four to five more in open water at 30-metre depths, and then write a test. Getting an open water licence means they are certified divers. This licence is recognised everywhere in the world and they will be allowed to participate and dive within certain confines. One can also do a rescue diver’s course and then apply for a dive master’s (assistant to instructor) programme.
The theory part of the training (different at every level) involves understanding the basic physics of what happens to human beings/diving equipment under water. Training in what happens to the body when the pressure increases, how to react to the diving apparatus, understanding of how the equipment functions are all given. Advanced levels deal with physics, first aid, rescuing and more detailed theoretical understanding of how equipments function.
Certifications are a must to qualify as divers and instructors. Some agencies that can help are: Professional Association of Diving Instructors (www.padi.com);
British Sub Aqua Club (www.bsac.com);
National Association of Underwater Instructors (www.naui.org);
Scuba Schools International (www.divessi.com);
Confederation Mondiale Des Activities (www.cmas2000.org)
The diving season lasts seven months, from October to April. In countries like Thailand or the Philippines, however, one can remain employed for 12 months. An instructor can be paid anything from Rs.20,000 to Rs.40,000 a month, plus free food and good accommodation. Big tips can come in from grateful diving students.
Skills required:
.Lots of patience. You are dealing with people who could be afraid of drowning, darkness, and sea creatures.
.Knowledge of marine life so you can point it out to people/your students when you take them diving.
To become a SCUBA (Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus) diver, one requires interational certification. Certifications from PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) can be taken, based in SantaClara, California, USA); BSAC (British Sub-Aqua Club), NAUI (National Association of Underwater Instructors), SSI (Scuba Schools International), and CMAS (French Diving Federation).
Institutes to watch out for:
Lacadives India www.lacadives.com.
Barracuda Diving India www.barracudadiving.com.
Dive Goa www.divegoa.com.
Dive India www.diveindia.com.
Barefoot India www.barefootindia.com