PADI Assistant Instructor Course

The PADI Assistant Instructor course is designed to provide PADI Divemasters with additional training as instructional assistants and dive educators. This course builds upon the divemaster's abilities to organize and supervise dive activities while concentrating on developing teaching skills.

Through independent study, classroom sessions and practical application, candidates learn to construct effective teaching presentations and conduct PADI programs.

The PADI Assistant Instructor course goals are to:

• Further develop the candidate's skills as an instructional assistant.
  
• Provide the candidate with practical experience in teaching academic portions of various PADI courses.
  
• Provide the candidate with practical experience in conducting skill development sessions for the PADI Skin Diver and Peak Performance Buoyancy Specialty Diver courses.
  
• Provide the candidate with practical experience in conducting open water training dives for the PADI Skin Diver and Peak Performance Buoyancy Specialty courses.
  
• Provide the candidate with practical experience in conducting PADI Discover and Experience programs.
  
• Familiarize the candidate with PADI Standards, administrative requirements and certification procedures used in conducting PADI courses.
  
• Familiarize the candidate with the structure of the dive industry and provide basic marketing ideas, sales philosophy, and legal responsibility and risk management techniques.
  
• Prepare the candidate for PADI Instructor training.

Duties of the PADI Assistant Instructor

Beyond the responsibilities and duties they already have as PADI Divemasters, certified Assistant Instructors (who are in Teaching status and meet insurance requirements) are authorized to:

• Present the academic elaboration for any PADI diver course under the indirect supervision of a PADI Instructor.
  
• Teach and certify PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy Specialty Divers under the direction of a PADI Instructor.
  
• Independently conduct the Discover Scuba Diving experience.
  
• Teach and certify students in the Emergency First Response first aid course after successful completion of a PADI Emergency First Response Instructor course.
  
• Teach and certify students in a non-diving specialty, such as Equipment Specialist or distinctive oxygen administration, after successful completion of a Specialty Instructor Training course for that specialty.

Course Prerequisites

• Be certified as a PADI Divemaster of leadership level with another recreational diver training organisation.
  
• Be at least 18 years of age.
  
• Be fit for diving and submit a Medical Statement for a diving medical examination conducted within the past 12 months.
• Have completed and logged at least 60 dives.
  
• successfully complete a knowledge and skill reassessment.
  
• If not a PADI Divemaster, successfully complete the PADI Divemaster course diver rescue skills assessment.

Course Materials

The following materials are required reading for certification as a PADI Assistant Instructor, including:

• PADI Instructor Manual (digital or paper version)
  
• Confined Water Cue Cards
  
• Open Water Cue Cards
  
• The Best of the Undersea Journal
  
• Lesson preparation slate (confined water)
  
• Lesson preparation slate (open water)
  
• Peak Performance Buoyancy Specialty course outline
  
• Project Aware Specialty course outline
  
• The Business of Diving
  
• The Law and the Diving Professional
  
• PADI IDC Candidate Workbook

The course costs £350 and includes the IDC Candidate workbook