Instructor Development Course (IDC)

Run at our Reading centre under the guidance of a PADI Course Director, it combines the Assistant Instructor course with the full Open Water Scuba Instructor program, taking you from assisting on courses to running them yourself.

Training covers PADI standards and procedures in real depth: how to plan and deliver knowledge development sessions, confined water skill demonstrations and open water training dives to the level PADI expects worldwide. You will also study risk management, diver motivation, marketing and the business side of teaching, alongside plenty of supervised practice actually teaching your fellow candidates.

Because so much of professional diving is about clear communication under pressure, the IDC pushes you to explain and demonstrate skills precisely, adapt to different student needs, and manage a class safely and confidently, not just perform the skills well yourself. Most candidates find this shift in mindset, from diver to educator, the most valuable part of the whole course.

Successful completion prepares you for the PADI Instructor Examination, the final external assessment before certification. Many candidates also use the IDC to complete their EFR Instructor rating, giving them the qualification to teach Emergency First Response alongside their scuba courses from day one.