PADI Staff Instructor
This is it: the instructor’s instructor! You are about to move from instructor to leader; from coach to mentor! It is also your time to reflect on why divers learn to dive – remember the awe; the excitement; the passion!
As a PADI IDC staff instructor your role is to pass on the message, the feeling, and the lifestyle choice directly to the next generation of PADI instructors!
Join a very elite group and push yourself into the challenge of achieving the ultimate instructor rating. Be the best you can be.
1. Course overview
In terms of demonstrating your skills and knowledge, it follows a similar arrangement to your IDC and IE. This is the next level, and the performance requirements reflect that. Think of it as if you were retaking your IE – but with gusto!
You’ll need to score at least 80% on each of your dive theory and PADI standards exams, at least 4.0 on both a confined water and knowledge development teaching presentation, and perform all 24 dive skills scoring at least 96 points (with no individual score below 3).
You’ll also need to meet various evaluation scoring parameters against the control score for various teaching presentations, and either audit a complete IDC by observing all required IDC curriculum sections – or present all components from the Assistance Instructor course scoring at least 3.4 on each.
You must already be a teaching status PADI Instructor with your Master Scuba Diver Trainer (MSDT) status.
You’ll also need to be medically evaluated and cleared for diving by a physician within the past 12 months. Do note that in the UK, working divers need to annually renew their HSE diving medicals.
2. What you'll learn
The IDC Staff Instructor course will prepare you to teach the PADI Assistant Instructor course AND play a vital role in teaching PADI instructor development programmes.
The training will further teach abilities and develop your evaluation and counselling skills through classroom sessions & guided evaluation training. Our course director will work with you to hone & polish the skills you learnt on your journey through the instructor & MSDT instructor ranks.
3. Equipment
As a dive professional, you’ll really be expected to provide your own scuba kit – and be fully confident in its usage. If you don’t yet have it, and want to look at purchasing your own, we’d be happy to help you.
As a minimum, you’ll need a mask, snorkel, fins, buoyancy compensating jacket (BCD), scuba regulator, underwater compass, dive knife, at least two surface signalling devices, and the instrumentation to monitor your depth and air supply. You can hire cylinders from us, or bring your own in-test cylinders with you to be refilled at the dive site.
You’ll be diving in a range of environments, from an indoor pool to open water dive sites in the UK. You’ll need exposure protection suitable for these environments, and we’d certainly recommend a dry suit for the amount of time you’ll be in open water. If you do dive in a dry suit, you need to ensure you have the correct training for this.
Any equipment you provide yourself must be in a serviced, well-maintained and safe condition. No exceptions!
4. Learning materials
Unlike other pro-level courses, the majority of the PADI Staff Instructor course is based on in-person assessment and training working with the course director.
You’ll need to attend the four IDC Staff Instructor course knowledge development sessions.
Ready to start?
You can book and pay for your course with us online, either for yourself or someone else. We’ll send over any e-Learning content to your email, and we can then work with you on suitable dates and times for any practical sessions.
We have availability throughout the year, although if you have specific dates or a timeline in mind, please check with us first.
Your next adventure...
Ambitious, aren’t we! And rightly so. Your next step after achieving staff instructor status is Master Instructor.
Master instructors are recognised as elite scuba diving educators. Through dedication and hard work over the following two years, you’ll have proven yourself to be a dive industry leader through your teaching efforts.
You’ll need at least 150 issued PADI certifications at various levels, 10 Emergency First Response course completion cards, have certified 5 Divemasters and participated in at least 3 PADI seminars. There are other requirements too.
Contact us directly for guidance and advice on next steps!
The Stellar Crew
We have a very straightforward philosophy; we are totally committed to ensuring you – our customer – have the best, safest and most enjoyable experience possible. It’s as simple as that!
Here at Stellar, we all love to scuba dive, and we love to have fun doing it. We absolutely want you to feel the same way when you dive with us.
We can very proudly boast that we’re a PADI 5-star Instructor Development Centre. Put simply, this means we also train the trainers – so naturally we take our education of safe diving very seriously. You’re in safe hands, and you’ll have a lot of fun in the process too.