The Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) is the world's largest recreational diving membership and diver training organization founded in 1966 by John Cronin and Ralph Erickson. Cronin was originally a NAUI instructor who decided to form his own organization with Erickson, and to break diver training down into several modular courses instead of the single universal course then prevalent.
PADI courses range from minimal entry level to relatively advanced recreational diver certification, several specialized diving skills courses, usually connected with specific equipment or conditions, some diving related informational courses and a range of recreational diving instructor certifications. Under the PADI TecRec brand, they also offer various technical diving courses. PADI's sister company Emergency First Response Corp provides a range of first aid and CPR programs for lay people, including workplace specific programs in Australia, Canada and the UK. As of March 2017 PADI is reported to have issued 25 million scuba certifications.
In March 2017 it was announced that PADI was sold by Providence Equity Partners LLC for US$700 million.
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Membership
PADI claims to be the leading training agency for scuba diving in the world. As of 2016 it has a membership of over 136,000 individuals and 6,300 dive centers, and has awarded more than 25,000,000 diving certifications internationally.
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Training system
PADI courses are performance-based diver training programs, and at the introductory level emphasize practical knowledge, safety and motor skills. The basics of diving physics and physiology are introduced during entry level programs. The details of these concepts are left for later courses when they are necessary for the required competences of the specific training. These practices fall within current modern learning philosophies and receive regular updates via peer review.
The PADI training system is composed of modules with standardized learning objectives divided into theory and practical skills development. Each module is a stand-alone course for which certification is provided to the participant on successful completion of the course. Theory is mainly conveyed by way of self-study using books, computer-based training using CD-ROM or online learning. All study options are supplemented with video and, in most cases, live instruction to help the participant visualize what they have read. Confirmation of the student diver's level of mastery in standardized knowledge review sessions is carried out by a scuba instructor. The instructor utilizes both written tests and live observation during actual dives to verify a student's knowledge and skills. Practical skills are obtained through confined water training (pools or relatively shallow water) and performance evaluations in open water.
Training programs
Non certification
- Discover Scuba Diving -- An introductory scuba diving experience under the direct supervision of an instructor in controlled conditions.
- Discover Snorkeling
- Discover Rebreather -- An introductory confined water experience using a recreational or technical rebreather under the direct supervision of a PADI Rebreather or Tec CCR Instructor.
- Discover Tec -- An introductory confined water experience using technical backmount or sidemount equipment.
Certification
Recreational diving
For kids:
- PADI Seal Team (Age 8 and above)
- PADI Bubble Maker (Age 8 and above)
Recreational diving skills:
- Skin Diver (Snorkeling)
- Junior Scuba Diver (Age 10 to 14)
- Scuba Diver -- subset of the PADI Open Water Diver course, must dive under the direct supervision of a PADI Professional
- Junior Open Water Diver (Age 10 to 14)
- Open Water Diver
- Adventure Diver -- exposure to three elective scuba experiences.
- Advanced Open Water Diver -- expanded scuba skills through "adventure" dive experience: a "deep" dive (18 - 30m), an underwater navigation dive and three electives from a large choice.
- Rescue Diver -- Basic skills in stress management, self rescue and buddy rescue for recreational diving.
- Master Scuba Diver -- recognition of selected set of certifications and experience: Advanced Open Water Diver, Rescue Diver, 5 elective specialties and 50 logged dives.
Recreational specialty courses
Examples of PADI specialty courses include:
In addition to the mainstream specialty courses above, individual PADI instructors can prepare and teach (with PADI's approval) their own distinctive specialty courses, and dozens of such courses abound. Some of the courses represent less frequently used mainstream skills such as "Twin-set diver", "Full face-mask diver", "Surface Marker Buoy" and "Advanced wreck diver" specialties, some of which are included as part of a standard diving skills course by other organizations. Others are abstract either with reference to skills or locale (it is possible to take specialties in "Golf ball diver", "Zen/Yoga diver", "Underwater wedding" or site-specific specialties such as "Wreck of the Rhone diver" and "Spiegel Grove Diver.")
Professional certifications
- Divemaster
- Assistant Instructor
- Open Water Scuba Instructor (OWSI)
- Specialty Instructor
- Master Scuba Diver Trainer (MSDT)
- IDC Staff Instructor
- Master Instructor
- PADI Course Director
Technical diving
PADI have developed courses for those divers wishing to dive beyond 40 metres (130 feet), use stage decompression, dive in an overhead environment beyond 40 linear metres (130 linear feet), use accelerated decompression or use variable gas mixtures during a dive.
Open circuit scuba
- Discover Tec (non-certification) -- a short confined water experience that allows the diver to try out technical diving equipment under supervision.
- Tec 40 -- limited decompression dives to 40 metres (130 feet) using backmount or sidemount cylinders.
- Tec 45 -- diving using air or Nitrox to 45 metres (145 feet) with repetitive accelerated decompression dives using a single decompression cylinder using either backmount or sidemount.
- Tec 50 -- diving using air or Nitrox to 50 metres (165 feet) with accelerated decompression using up to two gases, using backmount or sidemount with up to two decompression cylinders.
- Tec Trimix 65 -- diving using trimix to maximum depth of 65 metres (210 feet) with accelerated decompression using two gases, using backmount or sidemount and two decompression cylinders.
- Tec Trimix Diver -- diving using trimix to 90 metres (300 feet) during training (no limit specified after training) using backmount or sidemount, and more than two cylinders with decompression gas,
Closed circuit rebreather
- Tec 40 CCR -- no stop or limited decompression dives using a Type T CCR (PADI approved technical CCR) to a maximum depth of 40 metres (130 feet)
- Tec 60 CCR
- Tec 100 CCR
- Tec CCR Qualifier
- Tec CCR Refresher
Specialities
- Tec Gas Blender speciality -- blend nitrox and helium-blend breathing gases using one or more blending methods.
- Tec Sidemount speciality - dive with four sidemount cylinders.
Professional certifications
- Tec Instructor
- Tec Deep Instructor
- Tec Gas Blender Instructor
- Tec Trimix Instructor
- Tec Sidemount Instructor
- Tec 40 CCR Instructor
- Tec 60 CCR Instructor
- Tec 100 CCR Instructor
Freediving
- PADI Basic Freediver
- PADI Freediver
- PADI Advanced Freediver
- PADI Master Freediver
Workplace programs
PADI offers a speciality program called Public Safety Diver for divers who are either employed in or serve as volunteers in the public safety diving sector principally within the United States.
First aid programs
PADI via its subsidiary, Emergency First Response, Corp, distributes the following programs in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and first aid for both divers and non-divers:
- Primary Care (CPR)
- Secondary Care (First Aid)
- Care for Children
- Region-specific workplaces courses for countries including Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
History
PADI founded in 1966 by John Cronin and Ralph Erickson.
DSAT was founded on 19 November 1986.
PADI Launched its TecRec program in January 2001 with the 'Tec Deep Diver' course (air to 50 m with accelerated decompression)
Contributions, accreditations, recognitions and affiliations
PADI courses are recognized, recommended and cited by a variety of institutions and organizations throughout the world for both recreational diving and vocational training.
The United States
PADI is the only recreational scuba diving organization whose courses are eligible for the American Council on Education (ACE) College Credit Recommendation Service (CREDIT). As of October 2016, 24 PADI courses are recommended for college credit by ACE.
Since 2009, PADI and the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) have maintained a mutual support partnership. PADI is the only scuba training organization with this formal relationship with BSA. The BSA's Florida National High Adventure Sea Base has a twenty-year partnership with PADI, citing PADI's leadership in developing the Snorkel BSA Award, Scuba BSA Award, and the Scuba merit badge. The Sea Base exclusively offers PADI certifications. The PADI Dive to Adventure Scholarship Program for the BSA provides training materials and/or course fees for various levels of scuba training for up to 100 scouts each year. When adding up these 25 annual scholarships, the value is $23,350.
PADI is a member of the United States Recreational Scuba Training Council (RSTC).
Other countries
In Canada, PADI is the exclusive sponsor of the Scouts Canada Scuba Program.
Recognitions and equivalencies has been established between PADI and Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques, the Colombian Navy,and Fédération Française d'Études et de Sports Sous-Marins (FFESSM). PADI is also a registered training organisation in Australia. As of 2012, PADI rescue diver and divemaster programs are included on the United Kingdom's Health and Safety Executive list of approved diving qualifications.
Those PADI courses aligning with standards published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for 'Recreational diving services' were audited by the European Underwater Federation (EUF) Certification Body in 2004 and 2009, and were certified at both times as complying with these standards.
PADI is a member of the following member councils of the World Recreational Scuba Training Council - the RSTC Canada, the RSTC Europe and the C-Card Council (Japan).
Acclaim cited in professional literature
PADI's instructional methodology is cited in EDUCAUSE's 2012 book, Game Changers: Education and Information Technologies regarding badges as "a symbol or indicator of an accomplishment, skill, quality, or interest. From the Boy and Girl Scouts to PADI diving instruction, to the more recently popular geolocation game Foursquare, badges have been successfully used to set goals, motivate behaviors, represent achievements, and communicate success in many contexts."
PADI's environmental emphasis is cited in the 2007 book, New Frontiers in Marine Tourism, in its section, Dive Tourism, Sustainable Tourism and Social Responsibility: A Growing Agenda - Environmental management and education: the case of PADI, (Chapter Seven). "PADI, as well as other diver certification organisations and individual businesses, has put significant resources into conservation and developed public awareness programmes".
New Frontiers in Marine Tourism also cites in the section entitled Student Scholarships and Social Responsibility: A Growing Agenda for PADI, that "The PADI Scholarship programme ... is a good example of the way that various disparate parts of an industry, each with limited resources, can pool their efforts to help more people from developing countries to enter the diving profession... PADI recognises that good relations with the involvement of local people is essential both to business development and to environmental protection. The scholarship scheme makes entry into the dive business more possible for some students who have the backing of their dive centre."
Criticism
PADI is often subject to criticism. In particular, accusations are sometimes made against the organization that it "dumbs down" scuba diving training courses, making them too short and easy.
In 2006 PADI was severely criticized by a Coroner's court in the United Kingdom for providing what experts regarded as short and insufficient training. Although PADI training standards differ from those formerly prevalent in the United Kingdom under the BSAC system, PADI training standards are consistent with World Recreational Scuba Training Council standards.
PADI has been referred to facetiously as a mnemonic for 'Put Another Dollar In'.
Project AWARE
In 1995, PADI founded Project AWARE to help conserve underwater environments. Project AWARE information has been integrated in most courses and divers are offered the chance to exchange their normal certificate for an AWARE-certificate by making a donation to the program when sending in their application for a new certificate.
Affiliate companies
- Emergency First Response provides CPR and First Aid training both for the lay person and in the workplace.
- Current Publishing Corporation develops marine science programs for high school and upper level educational facilities.
- Diving Science and Technology Corporation (DSAT) is the development arm for the Recreational Dive Planner and PADI's Tec-Rec program.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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