THE PADI SYSTEM OF EDUCATION AND CERTIFICATION

There are a number of diving certification agencys worldwide including SSI, NAUI, CMAS, BSAC, and numerous others. However here we give an overview of the PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) system of diver education as it is the most widely taught training system worldwide with educational materials in many languages. It allows anyone from the age of 8 to experience the thrills of the underwater world.

THE OPEN WATER COURSE AND INTRODUCTORY DIVING

Most people begin their diving education with the PADI Open Water Course. This takes three to four days depending on where you learn and qualifies you to dive to 18m with any other similarly qualified diver.

If you don't have three or four days to learn then you can gain the Scuba Diver qualification in just two days and extend it to the Open Water Diver Course when you have time. If you are unsure about whether you want to learn to dive then you have the option to do an introductory dive, Discover Scuba Diving, under the supervision of a qualified PADI instructor. This will allow you to experience the feel of diving without committing to a course.

All PADI courses have professional educational materials available to help you learn and retain the knowledge for your future enjoyment and safety. We cannot emphasise strongly enough about how important it is to own your own personal copies of the course material. The PADI dive schools, dive centres and resorts will often loan you a copy of your course material but this is far from ideal as you cannot reference relevant notes or important information on completion of your studies. Unless you dive regularly it is unlikely that you'll remember all that you've been taught, highlighting the need for your own reference guides. Before your next dive, take a few minutes with your personal manual to review the key points before returning to the underwater world.