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Assistant Instructor / Instructor Course

The SSI Instructor program is the final step in your quest to become a SSI Open water Scuba Instructor.

The SSI Open Water Scuba Instructor rating sets you apart from the crowd. To achieve this level of certification, you will develop a thorough understanding of SSI’s teaching philosophy, become fluent with both classroom and open water presentations, fine tune your skills to what the dive industry demands, and become familiar with the General Standards and Procedures that SSI have set worldwide. Once certified, SSI Instructors may conduct the entire range of SSI programs - from Discover Scuba through to Dive Control Specialist. Then it’s just a matter of where you would like to work around the world.

How do I do the course?

There are three stages to complete in becoming a SSI Open Water Scuba instructor

Prior to the start of an Instructor Training Course (ITC), you must complete all ITC knowledge reviews. This is accomplished by self-study using the SSI Instructor manual and the Assistant Instructor / Instructor crew pack.

Stage #1 - Assistant Instructor Course

  • On day 1. After your orientation, you will learn the SSI System of Education and learn how to develop both class and ocean presentations. After a short break, you will gain experience in the SSI Discover Snorkeling and Discover Scuba programs, followed by the SSI Standards and Procedures examination.
  • Day 2. After completing your first academic teaching presentation, you learn how to conduct open water training dives. After lunch, you will then give 2 confined open water teaching presentations followed by a skill circuit, where you will be evaluated and graded on your performance.
  • Day 3. As a confident Instructor, you need to be able to teach a variety of courses, so you will now learn how to teach SSI’s Navigation and the Night/Limited Visibilty Specialty courses, followed by another academic teaching presentation. After lunch you will be in the ocean giving two open water teaching presentations followed by a Sterss Rescue Workshop.
Congratulations, at this point you will now become an Assistant Instructor!

From here you have two options. Gain some experience as a working SSI Assistant Instructor within the dive industry, or take the next step and continue through to the SSI Open Water Scuba Instructor Course.

Stage #2 - Open Water Scuba Instructor Course

  • Day 1. After your orientation, you will go over topics such as an overview of the Diving Industry, completing the SSI General Standards and Procedures again to really hone in your knowledge to ensure mastery of the exams, Legal Responsibilities and Risk Management, the Role of the Media and Prescriptive Teaching, followed by the SSI Scuba Diver and the Open Water Scuba Diver courses.
  • Day 2. After giving the first of your academic teaching presentations you will learn how to teach the Dive Tables, teaching children and the SSI continuing education philosophy. After lunch, you will discuss the business principles for the diving professional and learn about the Adventures in Diving program.
  • Day 3. After giving your second academic teaching presentation, you will cover topics such as Specialty courses, the Master Scuba Diver, Stress Rescue Diver and Dive Control Specialist courses. After lunch its to the pool to give two confined water presentations followed by a skills circuit. You will then complete an Adventures in Diving and Rescue Diver Workshops.
  • Day 4. You will now give your final academic teaching presentation followed by diver retention programs and dive theory exams. In the afternoon you will give your last two open water presentations and complete the Rescue Diver workshop.
After day 4, you are now ready to take the SSI Instructor examination.

Stage #3 - The SSI Instructor Examination

The final stage in becoming a SSI Open water scuba instructor is the SSI Instructor examination (SSI IE). This is your chance to show SSI and your peers how good you really are.

The SSI IE is conducted by the friendly Instructor Examiners from SSI Headquarters. During the SSI IE, you will be examined on all the areas that you covered in your Instructor Training Course. This will include;

The final stage in becoming a SSI Open water scuba instructor is the SSI Instructor examination (SSI IE). This is your chance to show SSI and your peers how good you really are.
The SSI IE is conducted by the friendly Instructor Examiners from SSI Headquarters. During the SSI IE, you will be examined on all the areas that you covered in your Instructor development Course. This will include;

  • Friday Evening: Five theory exams-Physics, Physiology, Equipment, RDP and Skills and the Environment. To pass, you will need to score a minimum of 75% on each exam.
  • Saturday: One knowledge development teaching presentation scoring at least 3.5 out of 5 points.
  • Standards Exam- To pass, you will need to score a minimum of 75%. One confined water teaching presentation with at least a score of 3.4 out of a possible 5 points.
    Five skill demonstrations scoring at least 17 out of 25 points, with no skill scoring less than 3 points.
  • Sunday:Two open water teaching presentations earning an average of 3.5 out of 5 points.
    Finally a Rescue Evaluation. To pass, a successful demonstration must be given.

Upon successful completion of the SSI IE, you will achieve the rating of a SSI Open Water Scuba Instructor. Welcome to Scuba Schools International. (SSI) 

Educational Tools

During your instructor development Course, SSI Standards require you to have the following;

  • SSI Instructor Manual
  • SSI Instructor Candidate Workbook
  • SSI Open Water Diver Manual
  • SSI Stress Rescue Diver Manual
  • SSI Confined Water Preparation slate
  • SSI Aquatic Cue Cards - Confined Water
  • SSI Open Water Lesson Planning slate
  • SSI Aquatic Cue Cards - Open Water
  • SSI Rescue Exam booklet
  • SSI Dive Control Specialist Exam booklet
  • SSI Navigation and Night/Limited Visibility specialty outlines
  • The Law & The Diving Professional
  • The Business of Diving

Prerequisites

  • Certified as a SSI Dive Control Specialist or equivalent
  • At least 18 years old
  • Submit a medical statement for diving conducted within the past 12 months
  • Been a certified diver for at least 6 months, have logged at least 60 open water scuba dives and have proof of experience in deep, night and navigation diving (to attend the Instructor course).
  • Submit proof of CPR and first aid training within the last 24 months.
  • Submit photocopies of Open water, Advanced, Rescue and Divemaster certification cards or any equivalent diving certifications.

NOTE: To progress into the SSI IE, you must have at least 100 logged dives.