Instructor and student exchanging hand signals in clear shallow water

Assistant Instructor

SKU AIN001

POA

Product variants

Divemaster taught you to supervise divers. This starts teaching you to teach them.

There's a real gap between guiding a group of certified divers and standing in front of someone who has never breathed underwater and being responsible for how well they learn to. Assistant Instructor is where you cross it.

The course shifts your focus from supervision to instruction: how people actually learn, how to present knowledge development so it lands, how to demonstrate a skill slowly and correctly enough to be copied, and how to spot the difference between a student who has understood something and one who has merely completed it.

It's also the first rating that lets you teach and certify divers in your own right, in a defined set of courses. Equipment isn't included in the course fee; scuba gear can be hired separately if you don't have your own.

What An Assistant Instructor Can Do

You'll be authorised to present knowledge development for any PADI diver course under an instructor's indirect supervision, deliver initial skills training in confined water under direct supervision, and conduct open water surface skill evaluations during Open Water Diver course dives.

You can also teach and certify Peak Performance Buoyancy and AWARE Dive Against Debris divers under an instructor's direction, and independently teach the non-diving PADI AWARE specialty. Assistant Instructor is a prerequisite for the OWSI programme, so it's also the first half of the route to full Instructor.

This course is priced on application, because it's often run as part of a full Instructor Development Course and the right package depends on where you're heading. Get in touch with our team and we'll put a proper quote together.

What This Course Entails

The course covers the PADI System in depth, learning theory and how adults actually acquire skills, the PADI Instructor Manual and standards, and risk management. This is the theory that separates someone who can dive well from someone who can teach diving well.

Practically, you'll develop and deliver knowledge development presentations, run confined water skill demonstrations to demonstration quality, which is slower and more exaggerated than diving normally, and conduct open water teaching presentations under evaluation.

The course is frequently run as the first half of a full Instructor Development Course, straight into the OWSI programme. Equipment isn't included in the course fee and can be hired separately; PADI application and certification fees are quoted separately.

Prerequisites

Certified PADI Divemaster, or a leadership-level rating with another diver training organisation.
Minimum age is 18 years old.
60 logged dives, with documented experience in night diving, deep diving and underwater navigation.
Emergency First Response Primary and Secondary Care course completion, or qualifying training, within the last 24 months.
Medical clearance attesting to dive fitness, signed by a physician within the previous 12 months.
If you are not a PADI Divemaster, you'll also complete the PADI Divemaster course dive rescue assessment and submit documentation of your entry-level, advanced, rescue and leadership certifications to PADI.

Frequently Asked Questions

What can an Assistant Instructor actually do?

Present knowledge development for any PADI diver course under an instructor's indirect supervision, deliver initial skills training in confined water under direct supervision, and conduct open water surface skill evaluations during Open Water Diver course dives. You can also teach and certify Peak Performance Buoyancy and AWARE Dive Against Debris divers under an instructor's direction, and independently teach the non-diving PADI AWARE specialty.

Do I need to be a Divemaster first?

You need to be a PADI Divemaster, or hold a leadership-level rating with another diver training organisation. If you're coming from another agency, you'll also need to complete the PADI Divemaster course dive rescue assessment and submit documentation of your entry-level, advanced, rescue and leadership certifications to PADI.

How many dives do I need?

Sixty logged dives, with documented experience in night diving, deep diving and underwater navigation. The documented part matters, so if those aren't clearly in your logbook, bring it in and we'll work out what's missing before you book.

Do I need first aid training?

Yes. Emergency First Response Primary and Secondary Care, or qualifying equivalent training, completed within the last 24 months. You'll also need medical clearance signed by a physician within the previous 12 months, which is a stricter requirement than the self-declaration used at diver level.

Do I have to do this before becoming an Instructor?

Effectively yes, but it's usually bundled. The Instructor Development Course has two parts, the Assistant Instructor course and the OWSI programme, and Assistant Instructor is a prerequisite for the OWSI programme. Most candidates run straight through both as one IDC. Taking Assistant Instructor on its own makes sense if you want to start working sooner or spread the cost over two stages.