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Leadership Courses

Diving Professionals are responsible for far more than merely themselves; they shoulder the responsibility of every aspect of diving operations and all divers in their care. From complete development of diving opportunities, to designing entire course curriculum from scratch, from establishing logistical supply needs, to equipment maintenance, modifications, and repairs, from caring for the complete well-being of an entire group of divers underwater, to ensuring the successful development and growth of all students, our Dive Professionals are truly leaders in the industry.


PDC Leadership Courses are not canned or quick. Leadership training is treated as a mentorship program, internship in style, custom-fit to each individuals' needs, and it should be expected that all of these courses will take considerable time to complete. We focus strongly on exceeding standards and the total development of all accepted candidates. Our training requirements are intended to produce certified professionals with the ability to work independently or as a member of any team, anywhere in the world, bringing with them the knowledge, skills, and abilities to succeed no matter where they go.


Leadership courses require a very different mentality than Recreational diving does, and they often take a long time to conduct as extensive practice, guidance, and mentorship is the process by which highly skilled, highly trained, qualified professionals are made. Leadership training can not begin until after all Core Recreational courses have been completed, and even then, candidates must be assessed for authorization to enroll before being accepted into a course. Additionally, even after a course begins, candidates are constantly evaluated, and not guaranteed certification.

IMPORTANT NOTE:


These are Leadership Level Certification Programs, and as such, require 100% initiative and extensive effort from the student. Alongside of academic and practical curriculum requirements, Personal and Professional Development is mandatory throughout these courses. Failure to Train on behalf of the student may result in being Dropped from Roles.


COURSE COSTS:


All courses have an enrollment cost, however, this is only the base cost of course enrollment. It includes academics, lectures, and practical instruction. It does not include the cost of facility use, dives, travel, accommodations, food, any expendable items, etc. These things must be paid by each participant separately. NAUI membership and professional liability insurance is also separate.

Assistant Instructor (AI) (ISO 24802-1)

COST: ¥76,000

Assistant Instructors (AI's) aid Dive Instructors in conducting dive certification courses, meaning they are authorized to help with student skills demonstrations, pool sessions, in-water training exercises, and teach all aspects of diving while under the direct supervision of a certified instructor.


This program is designed to introduce students to diving instructional basics. It also teaches individuals the fundamental water skills needed to be capable assistants. Certification authorizes individuals to assist active status Divemasters and Instructors in the conduct of dive operations and training. Assistant Instructor certification is a highly recommended step in the progression toward Instructor, however, it is not mandatory. Instead, it is widely used as a preparatory course, providing candidates with a solid foundation that better prepares them for success in the Instructor Training Course.


This course is an ISO 24802-1 certification program.


The minimum age for this course is:

  • 18 years or older.


The minimum prerequisites for this course are:

  • MSD certified.
  • DFA Pro certified within the previous 24 calendar months.
  • Candidates must have good swimming skills, including a good development of basic swim strokes, and pass a Class 3 Physical Fitness Test and a Class 2 Swim Test prior to being allowed to enroll in the course.
  • Mastery of Core Skills for diving.
  • It is STRONGLY recommended that students have at least 200 logged dives, and have spent time practicing basic and advanced level skills on each dive, before considering enrolling in this course. Including: neutral buoyancy, breathing, finning, navigation, dive planning, gas management, understanding dive science, use of equipment, etc.
  • Candidates must have the ability to remain calm in stressful situations on shore, in the water on the surface, and underwater.


Students must supply their own equipment, and all equipment must meet safety requirements.


Course graduates will receive a lifetime internationally recognized Assistant Instructor certification from the National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI), they will be authorized to apply for membership with NAUI, and will be considered competent to perform professional duties as an AI in the diving industry.

Divemaster (DM) (ISO 24801-3)

COST: ¥120,000

It is arguable that Divemasters (DM's) have possibly the greatest amount of responsibilities of all Dive Professionals. They are responsible for every dive operation, every dive trip, and every dive conducted that they are a part of. They are responsible for every diver in their care, all aspects of planning and execution of dives, all equipment, logistics, safety above and below the surface, and coordination. They lead dive shops, setup and manage events, create dive travel packages and opportunities, and bridge the gap between divers and third party operators. Jacks of all trades, they are equipment specialists, repair technicians, boat operators, compressor operators and fill technicians, dive mentors and skill-development specialists, customer service representatives, sales and marketing staff, rescue and safety swimmers, and much, much more.


Divemasters take divers diving, but clearly that's merely the tip of the iceberg of their full responsibilities and capabilities. To say Divemasters have an extremely important position within the diving industry as a whole is an understatement, and as such, training to qualify as a NAUI DM, let alone a DM under PDC standards, takes a considerable amount of academic study and practical application, mentorship and guidance, on average lasting six months or longer depending on individual performance and needs. As a result, our Divemasters are highly qualified, highly knowledgable, highly skilled, and highly trained professionals capable of working and diving anywhere.


This course is an ISO 24801-3 certification program.


The minimum age for this course is:

  • 18 years or older.


The minimum prerequisites for this course are:

  • MSD certified.
  • Drysuit certified.
  • Altitude certified.
  • Spatial Disorientation Trained.
  • DFA Pro certified within the previous 24 calendar months.
  • Candidates must have good swimming skills, including a good development of basic swim strokes, and pass a Class 2 Physical Fitness Test and a Class 1 Swim Test prior to being allowed to enroll in the course.
  • Mastery of Core Skills for diving.
  • It is STRONGLY recommended that students have at least 300 logged dives, and have spent time practicing basic and advanced level skills on each dive, before considering enrolling in this course. Including: neutral buoyancy, breathing, finning, navigation, dive planning, gas management, understanding dive science, use of equipment, etc. All dive KSA's must be evaluated prior to acceptance as a candidate into the DM program.
  • Candidates must have the ability to remain calm in stressful situations on shore, in the water on the surface, and underwater.


Students must supply their own equipment, and all equipment must meet safety requirements.


Course graduates will receive a lifetime internationally recognized Divemaster certification from the National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI), they will be authorized to apply for membership with NAUI, and will be considered competent to perform professional duties as a DM in the diving industry either independently or as a member of any team, anywhere, worldwide.

Dive Instructor (DI) (ISO 24802-2)

COST: ¥200,000

Dive Instructors (DI's)--most commonly simply referred to as "Instructors"--are responsible for training and certifying new and certified divers in all aspects of diving Knowledge, Skills, and Ability development (KSA's) for all courses and programs the Instructor themselves are qualified to teach. DI's provide teaching, training, and instruction, evaluations and examinations, coaching, mentorship, and guidance, and give both formal and informal lectures, for the purpose of developing highly trained, highly educated, competent, confident, capable, and safe divers who are self-reliant and fully qualified to dive unsupervised from day one. They apply knowledge of the full range of methods and principles of instruction, learning psychology, and curriculum development, to ensure education and diver training is covered in terms of course content requirements and scope of material, and to adapt instruction to the proficiency level and learning needs of each individual. DI's assess an individuals' level of experience and training through review of training records and/or proficiency dive evaluations to determine proficiency and skill status, and to gauge progression and development. They plan and conduct diver training program operations in accordance with Standards and Policies, industry standards, and regulatory requirements and guidelines. They prepare formal courses, schedule training, and conduct initial, refresher, and continuing training, and the list goes on.


Essentially, DI's are responsible for all aspects of a divers' education and training in the inherently dangerous activity that is "diving", and to be considered qualified for such responsibilities requires extensive education and training themselves. Unlike other [so-called] "instructors" (commonly referred to as "Open Water SCUBA Instructors", or OWSI) from other dive agencies, who are considered "qualified" after only one or two weeks and a handful of dives, PDC DI's are not your run-of-the-mill "checklist readers". After all, who in the world can learn the complexities of education and teaching effectively in such a short time? Answer: You can't...


Training to qualify as a NAUI instructor, let alone a DI under PDC standards, takes a considerable amount of academic study and practical application, mentorship and guidance. The ITC takes most and average of six months or longer, with some taking over a year to complete based on their own performance and needs. However, from that, our DI's become qualified educators with fully-granted Academic Freedom and Trust, capable of teaching, coaching, mentoring, and guiding divers into becoming the best divers in the world.


This course is an ISO 24802-2 certification program.


The minimum age for this course is:

  • 18 years or older.


The minimum prerequisites for this course are:

  • DM certified.
  • Drysuit certified.
  • Altitude certified.
  • Spatial Disorientation Trained.
  • DFA Pro certified within the previous 24 calendar months.
  • Candidates must have good swimming skills, including a good development of basic swim strokes, and pass a Class 2 Physical Fitness Test and a Class 1 Swim Test prior to being allowed to enroll in the course.
  • Mastery of Core Skills for diving.
  • It is STRONGLY recommended that students have at least 500 logged dives, at least 50 as a DM, with a minimum of 6 months performing duties as a DM, and all dive KSA's, must be evaluated, and a thorough interview must be conducted, prior to acceptance into an Instructor Training Course (ITC).
  • Candidates must have the ability to remain calm in stressful situations on shore, in the water on the surface, and underwater.


Students must supply their own equipment, and all equipment must meet safety requirements.


Course graduates will receive a lifetime internationally recognized Instructor certification from the National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI), they will be authorized to apply for membership with NAUI, and will be considered competent to perform professional duties as an Instructor with fully-granted Academic Freedom in the diving industry either independently or as a member of any team, anywhere, worldwide.

What are Core Skills, and how is Mastery defined?

What are "Core Skills"?

"Core Skills" for diving include all basic skills taught at the Open Water and Advanced Open Water levels, that ALL divers should know and have been taught at those levels, with a primary focus on the following:

Breathing

Ideal breathing within mid-range tidal volume.

Buoyancy

Maintaining neutral buoyancy within +/- 0.5m for recreational levels, and within +/- 0.1m for technical diving standards.

Trim

Maintaining proper trim within no greater an Angle of Attack (AoA) of + 30 degrees.

Finning

Flutter, modified flutter, frog, modified frog (and variations), helicopter turns (while remaining in position and in trim), back finning (while in trim).

SMB Deployment

45 seconds or less from the time first starting to reach for the SMB to the point of letting go to send to the surface, from neutral, with minimal drift and movement.

Equipment Removal and Replacement

From Neutral, without touching the bottom or raising to the surface, in trim, with minimal drift.

Water Confidence

Ability to perform skills from an in-trim, neutrally buoyant position, with minimal drift and movement, with or without mask, and ability to address problems or emergencies calmly, with deliberate movements.

Emergency Procedures

Self-Rescue skills, Buddy Rescue skills, problem recognition and solving underwater.

Dive Science

A thorough and in-depth understanding of physics, biology, SAC, decompression theory, dive planning, gas management strategies, safety, environmental hazards, equipment (identification, uses, inspection, assembly, testing), equipment use and manipulation, etc.

How is "Mastery" defined?

"Mastery" refers to an observable and recognizable degree of  understanding and practical application within performance-based standards, often capable after an individual has achieved kinesthetic awareness (muscle memory), combined with critical capacity to apply KSA's at will given unprepared, asymmetric scenarios.

Fitness and Swim Testing for Leadership Courses

Class 3 Physical Fitness Test Standards

  • Push-ups (50 male / 20 female) (2 min)
  • 50 Crunches (3 min)
  • 50 Squats (5 min)
  • 3 Pull-ups (male) / 1min Dead Hang (female)
  • A 3km timed Run (18 min)


Class 2 Physical Fitness Test Standards

  • Push-ups (60 male / 25 female) (2 min)
  • 65 Crunches (3 min)
  • 80 Squats (5 min)
  • 5 Pull-ups (male) / 2min Dead Hang (female)
  • A 4km timed Run (25 min)


Class 1 Physical Fitness Test Standards

  • Push-ups (70 male / 30 female) (2 min)
  • 80 Crunches (3 min)
  • 100 Squats (5 min)
  • 10 Pull-ups (male) / 3min Dead Hang (female)
  • A 5km timed Run (30 min)


*NOTE: These are bare minimums. It is STRONGLY encouraged for candidates to exceed these standards and put forth their absolute BEST efforts at all times. PDC Staff Members MUST be tested semi-annually, and annually (as a part of their APART), and must pass to retain active status.


Class 3 Swim Test Standards

  • 100m Swim demonstrating ability in at least three of the four basic swim strokes:
    • American Crawl (Freestyle)
    • Side Stroke
    • Brest Stroke
    • Elementary Back Stroke
  • 10 minute survival swim
  • 15m underwater swim on a single breath


Class 2 Swim Test Standards

  • 200m Swim demonstrating proficiency in at least three of the four basic swim strokes:
    • American Crawl (Freestyle)
    • Side Stroke
    • Brest Stroke
    • Elementary Back Stroke
  • 10 minute survival swim
  • 25m underwater swim on a single breath
  • A recovery of a minimum of 5kg weight from a designated depth
  • A timed open water distance swim without fins or snorkel for a minimum of 200m
  • A timed open water swim with mask, snorkel, and fins for a minimum of 400m


Class 1 Swim Test Standards

  • 300m Swim demonstrating proficiency in at least three of the four basic swim strokes:
    • American Crawl (Freestyle)
    • Side Stroke
    • Brest Stroke
    • Elementary Back Stroke
  • 20 minute face down survival swim
  • 25m underwater swim on a single breath
  • A recovery of a minimum of 5kg weight from a designated depth
  • A timed open water distance swim without fins or snorkel for a minimum of 400m
  • A timed open water swim with mask, snorkel, and fins for a minimum of 1,000m


*NOTE: PDC Staff Members MUST be tested annually (as a part of their APART), and must pass to retain active status.

Medical Questionnaire

Please download this form (fillable PDF) and read the information and instructions carefully.

Fill in pages 1 and 2, and date and sign where indicated.

If you answer "yes" to any of the questions, DON'T WORRY! This may not mean you won't be able to train and get certified, but it does mean you will need to see your doctor (preferably a doctor familiar with dive medicine), and have them evaluate those answers.

Page 3 is for your doctor should you need to see one.

EN_English_Diver_Medical_Participant_Questionnaire_10346_2022-02-01 (pdf)Download

NOTICE!!!

Do NOT use a US Government computer or email address to fill out this form! It will get flagged and filtered in the government system and will not go through! Please use a personal computer or smart phone, and a personal email address for all contact forms on our website. Thank you.

Leadership Enrollment Form

Leadership Course Enrollment Form

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PLEASE FILL IN THE INFORMATION BELOW, AND A STAFF MEMBER WILL GET BACK TO YOU AS SOON AS ABLE TO DISCUSS COURSE DATES AND ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE


*Please be sure to download and fill out the medical waiver on this page. You can either fill it out and sign it digitally and include it in this email, or print it, fill it out and sign it, and bring it with you.

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