SDI Instructor Development Course (IDC)

SDI Instructor Evaluation Course (IEC)

+ SDI Computer Nitrox Instructor Rating

Are you looking for a career with job satisfaction? Would you like to teach people a new lifelong skill that will allow them to explore parts of the world they would never otherwise be able to see? Would you like to work in exotic locations or part-time in your local area? Help people overcome fears or to enable them to realise their dreams? Then scuba instruction could be for you!

Shellharbour Scuba & Photography offers SDI Instructor Development Courses at its finest. We are proud to mentor other passionate divers and help them become Diving Instructors with the finest, worldwide fastest growing and most innovative training agency, SDI.

The SDI Open Water Scuba Diver Instructor (OWSDI) course is designed to teach current Divemasters or Assistant Instructors, certified with a recognised dive training organisation, the knowledge to effectively function as an Instructor. This program is divided into two sections, an instructor development course (IDC) and an instructor evaluation course (IEC).

The recreational Diving World is an ever-growing, ever-changing industry. The market is developing fast and therefore the number of Instructors. Teaching people how to become safe and modern recreational divers is a challenge that has to be taken very seriously and that imparts high responsibilities. Only a well prepared and knowledgeable Diving Instructor will achieve success in this demanding industry. At Shellharbour Scuba & Photography, we pledge to get our candidates prepared for the challenges they will face as professionals.

Not only will we teach future professionals how to properly instruct recreational divers, but we also prepare them to face the very demanding and competitive World of the business of diving. It is a big investment in time and money to become a well-prepared dive professional, and we want our candidates ready to reap the fruits of their work immediately after entering this very competitive business.

Course Dates

Course prerequisites:

Minimum age 18
Certified diver for a minimum of 6 months
Proof of 100 logged dives completed in a number of different environments and conditions with varying depths
Be certified as a SDI Divemaster, SDI Assistant Instructor, or equivalent
Provide proof of current CPR, first aid and oxygen provider
Although we can hire you some equipment, we strongly recommend you own all of your own normal dive gear.

What you can expect to learn:

The SDI Open Water Scuba Diver Instructor course takes an in-depth look at all of the following and more:

SDI Standards and Procedures
History of SDI
Products and procedures
- How to place an order
- Registration procedures
- Yearly renewals
Liability and insurance
- Risk management
- Waivers and releases
Filling out an accident report
Methods of instruction
- Teaching theory, methods and oral communications
- Lesson preparation
- Use of training aids
- SDI home study program, use of knowledge quest
Successfully selling scuba
- Budgeting courses
- Recruiting students
- Organising and scheduling a course
- Retail sales
Instructor ethics
Physics and physiology of diving

Some of the required skills you will have to demonstrate include:

Present a minimum of:
- Two classroom presentations
- Two lessons in confined water
- Two lessons in open water
Show preparation, planning and control in
- Dive management
- Diving activities
Perform, to demonstration quality, one complete rescue scenario
Perform a 10 minute survival-float, without the use of swimming aids
Complete a 400 metre swim on the surface, non-stop, any stroke, without the use of swimming aids, in less than 10 minutes; swim goggles permitted
Complete a 800 metre swim with mask, snorkel, and fins non-stop without the use of arms in less than 17 minutes
Bring a diver, simulating unconsciousness, up from depth, not greater than 6 metres / 20 feet; at the surface swim them 100 metres in less than 4 minutes
Pool/confined water
- Candidates must perform, to demonstration quality, all skills listed in the SDI Open Water Scuba Diver Course
- Pool/confined water problem solving
Open Water
- In open water candidates must perform, to demonstration quality, all skills listed in the SDI Open Water Scuba Diver Course
- Open water problem solving

Required Skill Performance for IEC, the student must:

Present a minimum of:
- One classroom presentation, minimum time 15 minutes in duration
- One full lesson in confined water
- One full lesson in open water
The evaluating instructor trainer must verify all required subjects were covered and skills were performed

What’s in it for you?

Upon successful completion of this course, graduates may:

Teach the SDI Open Water Scuba Diver, Inactive Diver/Refresher course, Advanced Adventure Diver Specialty, Computer Diver specialty, Rescue Diver, Divemaster and Assistant Instructor courses

SDI Open Water Scuba Diver Instructor minimum requirements:

Satisfactorily complete the SDI Instructor written exam or online equivalent
Successfully complete the IDC and the IEC
Demonstrate mature and sound judgement concerning class planning and execution

Course Dates

Your Instructor Trainer

Having been involved in the dive industry for over 35 years, I look forward to developing the skills of the next generation of dive professionals.

My background as a High School teacher has given me the unique ability to interact with students from all backgrounds and abilities and to develop their skills to their highest abilities.

After gaining my Open Water certification in 1982, I have worked with some of the best Instructors, developing my diving and Instructional skills. Having recorded over 5000 dives in many locations around the pacific and along the east coast of Australia and certifying over 1500 divers I look forward to passing on my extensive knowledge in diver education.

Robert McKee

SDI/TDI Instructor Trainer