Four Cayman residents embarked on the journey toward their dive instructor certification on Monday, 5 September.
Go Pro Diving is running an Instructor Development Course for residents, which will take place over the course of several weeks in the evenings and at weekends.
Initially, students will be covering the academic components of the course and in October, when non-resident candidates fly down for the intensive Instructor Development Course, the two courses will come together for the in-water practice.
The structure of this resident course enables those who live and work on-island to complete the course without having to take time off work, explained Ash McKnight, PADI course director at Go Pro Diving.
The Instructor Development Course is a prerequisite for taking the Instructor Examination that leads to the PADI dive instructor certification.
This is the third resident IDC that has been run this year by Go Pro Diving and the course attracts candidates from all walks of life, said Mr. McKnight. Individuals enrolled on this course are working in security, watersports and the food and beverage industries. Some will seek full time work as dive instructors; others may simply see it as increased experience and an additional qualification.
For several years now, Go Pro Diving has been the only dive operator in Cayman to offer the Instructor Development course and Instructor Examinations, said Mr. McKnight and there are already seven courses scheduled for 2012.
In spite of making the courses accessible to residents, Mr. McKnight said the courses rarely attracts Caymanians. “It’s something the dive industry has struggled with for years,” he said, citing the relatively low salary of a dive instructor as a possible reason for this.
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With diving such a big thing in Cayman I would think that there would more interest from Caymanians to start thier own businesses in the Dive industry