Description

The Professional Association of Diving Instructors is a recreational diving membership and diver training organization founded in 1966 by John Cronin and Ralph Erickson

 

PADI courses range from 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. They also offer various technical diving courses. As of January 2019, PADI is reported to have issued 27 million scuba certifications

 

Membership

In 2019, PADI reported it had a membership of over 137,000 professional members and 6,600 dive centers, and had awarded more than 27,000,000 diving certifications internationally. PADI operates in 186 countries and territories. Membership is heavily weighted toward males, but in 2016, the organization experienced a growth of 1.1% in female certifications. Women accounted for 37.2% of all certifications during 2016. The organization hosts Women's Dive Day events across the globe in an effort to increase awareness of women divers.

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 or digital training using PADI eLearning. 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.