This is the moment you stop being a diver who helps out and start being a dive professional people look up to. Delivered as the first phase of our Instructor Development Course, Assistant Instructor status hands experienced Divemasters real teaching responsibility: running Discover Scuba Diving experiences, supervising certified divers, and teaching sections of Open Water Diver courses under supervision. Most candidates roll straight into completing their Open Water Scuba Instructor qualification.

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In detail

About This Course

The PADI Assistant Instructor course is the first rung of the professional teaching ladder, opening the door for experienced Divemasters to start working directly under the supervision of a PADI Instructor. Delivered over the first phase of Diving Academy's Instructor Development Course (IDC) in Reading, it lays the theoretical and practical foundations every PADI Professional relies on.

Candidates work through nine interactive knowledge development sections covering PADI Standards and Procedures, learning theory, risk management, diver safety, and the practicalities of running a dive business, including marketing and sales counselling. These sessions combine online eLearning with classroom discussion and hands-on practice.

By the end of the course, newly certified Assistant Instructors can independently teach Discover Scuba Diving experiences, supervise certified divers, and conduct several sections of Open Water Diver courses under instructor supervision, giving them genuine teaching responsibility early in their career.

Assistant Instructor status also forms the essential first half of the full Open Water Scuba Instructor (OWSI) programme, so most candidates continue straight on to complete their Instructor Examination and become fully qualified PADI Instructors.

The process

How The Course Works

Step 1
Instructor-Level Theory
You build the dive theory and PADI System knowledge that lets you stand in front of a class and actually teach it, not just recite it. This is the academic backbone that carries through everything else you do as a professional.
Step 2
Confined Water Teaching Practice
In the pool, you practise presenting skills to real students under your instructor's watch, learning to read a class and adjust on the fly. By the end you can run Discover Scuba Diving, Bubblemaker and Seal Team sessions independently.
PADI states: Assistant Instructors can independently conduct Discover Scuba Diving experiences in confined water, plus Bubblemaker and PADI Seal Team AquaMissions programmes for children.
Step 3
Ready to Teach a Specialty
You also get signed off to teach the Peak Performance Buoyancy specialty to certified divers - your first taste of running a course from start to finish. It is the clearest proof yet that you have moved from diver to dive professional.
PADI states: Assistant Instructors can teach the Peak Performance Buoyancy Specialty course to certified divers.

Course curriculum

What You'll Learn

Learning Outcomes

PADI Standards and Procedures for courses you can teach
Learning, Instruction and the PADI System
Risk Management and Diver Safety
The Business of Diving and your role as an instructor
Marketing Diving and Sales Counseling

Getting ready

Before You Start & What's Next

What's Included

IDC Online eLearning with nine interactive knowledge development sections

Prerequisites

PADI Divemaster certified as a diver for at least 6 months
At least 60 logged dives (100 dives required to attend the Instructor Examination)
Emergency First Response Primary and Secondary Care training within the past 24 months
Medical statement signed by a physician within the last 12 months

Next Steps

Open Water Scuba Instructor (OWSI) program

Upcoming training

Dates & Booking

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Quick facts

Duration

7 days of structured training

eLearning

Online learning is included in this course

Location

Unit 4, Bellman Court, Great Knollys Street, Reading, RG1 7HD

Certification

Recognised PADI qualification on completion

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Assistant Instructor

What to expect