Why PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors)?

PADI Divers carry the most respected and sought after scuba credentials in the world. No matter where you choose to dive, your PADI certification card will be recognized and accepted. In fact, on most dive adventures you’ll be surrounded by other PADI Divers who made the same certification choice you did – to train with the world’s largest and most respected diver training organization.

The Educational Difference
PADI courses are designed to make learning enjoyable and worthwhile. You get in and under the water quickly, scuba diving. Under the guidance of your professional PADI Instructor, you gain confidence while mastering important safety concepts and skills. You pick up key information as well as helpful tips by interacting with PADI educational materials – manual, videos, workbooks, multimedia discs, etc. Credentialed instructional designers use state-of-the-art technology and learning theories to create PADI materials with you, the student diver, in mind.

Your PADI Instructor makes sure that you are ready for certification using the concept of performance-based learning. This means that you progress as you demonstrate that you have mastered specific performance requirements essential to becoming a diver. Your instructor is there to help you meet these requirements, regardless of how quickly or slowly you master them. You must earn a PADI certification, but you do so in an encouraging and well-supported learning environment.

The unsurpassed quality of PADI materials and the educational validity of PADI courses has been independently acknowledged by international educational and vocational training authorities. The American Council on Education (ACE) and Canadian Learning Bank have both evaluated and recommended PADI courses for college credit equivalency. PADI Instructor Development Courses provided through PADI affiliated centres have received vocational training recognition by the Vocational Education Training and Accreditation Board (VETAB) in Australia, by the New Zealand Qualification Authority and in the United Kingdom on the National Qualification Framework. To view the college credit page please go to:  http://www.padi.com/padi/en/footerlinks/collegecredits.aspx

International Integrity
The PADI System of diver education assures that PADI professionals worldwide deliver PADI courses in a consistent and standardized manner, yet adapted to your unique needs and the requirements of your local diving environment. A PADI course you sign up for in Indonesia is virtually the same as a course a friend may take in Poland, yet both will be adapted to local cultures, customs, protocols and language. With more than 130,000 PADI Professionals and around 5300 PADI Dive Centers and Resorts operating in 180 countries and territories, you will likely find a PADI Professional who can speak your language and offer you a comfortable learning experience. To serve the needs of divers worldwide, translations of PADI materials are available in at least 26 languages.

Because PADI Dive Centers, Resorts and Instructors exist almost everywhere, no matter where your travels take you, you’ll find PADI programs and PADI dive buddies.

Professional Quality
Just as you must earn every PADI certification, PADI Instructors must complete a development program that sets the industry standard for instructor training. Each new PADI Instructor demonstrates a thorough knowledge of the PADI System and the ability to conduct PADI programs by meeting specific criteria. Before earning the PADI Instructor rating, all candidates are evaluated by a select group of PADI-employed Instructor Examiners. This ensures that the evaluation process is objective, fair and consistent worldwide.

All PADI programs, entry-level through instructor training, fall under strict educational standards monitored for worldwide consistency and quality. PADI takes a proactive approach to quality management and randomly surveys PADI Divers to confirm that their courses met PADI’s high standards as well as the divers’ expectations. No other diver training organization works to maintain this level of professional reliability and integrity. PADI’s commitment to a strong quality assurance process helps continually improve customer satisfaction.

Continuing Adventures
Your underwater adventures begin in your entry-level course and grows as you explore new dive sites, use new equipment and try different types of diving, like night or wreck diving. Providing the education, equipment and experiences you want and need, your PADI Dive Center or Resort supports your diving and helps you truly live the dive life.

You can tap into more than 25 specialty diver courses that allow you to focus on your areas of interest. You can progress up through PADI Rescue Diver on to PADI Divemaster and put your skills to use assisting other divers, or aim for the elite PADI Master Scuba Diver level – diving’s ultimate non professional level recreational scuba diver rating. The PADI System of diver education allows you to continue your dive education for a lifetime – even after you become a PADI Instructor – a vocation or avocation that provides a fulfillment few jobs can match.  

As a PADI Diver, you become part of the larger PADI community. In many parts of the world, you can join the PADI Diving Society, an organization made up of dive enthusiasts of all ages and experience levels. The PADI Diving Society keeps members informed on the latest developments in dive news, technology and training and offers members savings and incentives on all of the things you need to stay active and involved in diving - including dive travel, equipment and training.

My PADI is an online dive community built just for PADI Divers. Through it, you tap into the experiences of other divers around the world, share your personal dive experiences, track your dive education and maintain records of your equipment purchases.

As a PADI Diver, you also have access to the dive travel specialists at PADI Travel Network. With years of experience seeking out the best dive vacation values and helping divers plan memorable, customized trips, the PADI Network can send you on a dive holiday to member resorts, dive operators and live-aboard dive boats in popular destinations around the world.

Environmental Responsibility
The worldwide PADI organization is committed to preserving the aquatic environment for future generations. PADI courses encompass Project AWARE’s environmental awareness and protection philosophy. Throughout every PADI course, you’ll learn the importance of protecting fragile aquatic ecosystems and are encouraged to become involved in conservation efforts. As a PADI Diver, you join millions of others to form a growing force that can and does make a difference in the effort to preserve the underwater world.