Dive Instructor

About the Instructor Development Course #IDCwithDevocean

In 2018, Devocean Divers Malapascua started to develop the teaching of professional level by creating a specific divemaster program, allowing the Dive Master Trainees (DMTs) to have diving instructors specially dedicated to their training. As Course Director Walter G Schmit joined the Devocean Divers’ team, it felt just natural that Devocean Divers started to run its own Instructor Development Courses.

Because we want to offer the best quality and learning condition, a modern classroom was built beginning of 2019, to allow us to not only use the open-air classrooms/lounge area for teaching, but to offer also a place where students can focus and learn more advanced diving theory.

An IDC with Devocean Divers offers the option to the candidates to join the famous ‘early morning’ Thresher Shark dives, or one of the spectacular night dives of Malapascua, during their training. We believe that starting the day with a great dive is the best way to clear ones mind and start fresh, ready to learn!

About our inhouse Course Director

A PADI Course Director is an instructor trainer who conducts PADI Instructor Development Courses and other instructor-level trainings. PADI Course Directors hold the highest and most respected professional rating in recreational scuba diving. They are among the dive industry’s most influential opinion leaders and role models. The process to become a Course Director involves a thick application and a strict selection. The experience of the Course Director is examined as well as the level and quality of his training, just to be accepted into the demanding Course Director Training Course (CDTC).

Walter Gustavo Schmit has over 16 years as a professional PADI instructor. He has never stopped working in this industry and living his dream career. So he has built all the required experience to become a Course Director, but in the last years he had decided to increase his Technical Diving knowledge before choosing the path of teaching instructor level. After becoming a Technical Diving Instructor and having trained students to 40, 45 or 50 meters with different configurations of tanks, the moment had come for Walter to move into the next step of his career and join the Course Director Training Course (CDTC).

Because of his experience assisting Course Directors in Thailand, Indonesia and in the Philippines, Walter has participated in training a great amount of dive masters to become instructors. He was selected to be a personal translator for some Spanish candidates and has already felt the responsibility of preparing IDC candidates for their final examination. All of those students passed successfully, and you can see multiple testimonials below.

Walter started training Open Water Scuba Instructors in Devocean Divers in 2019 and has been offering them to learn Specialties like Enriched Air Diver Instructor, Deep Diver Instructor, or Wreck Diver Instructor. Learning those specialties with a knowledgeable Tec Diver like Walter allows our newly certified instructors to extend their theory and skills and move forward towards the Master Scuba Diver Trainer rating.

INTERVIEW WITH WALTER G SCHMIT

What is your philosophy on teaching IDC?

“Make it real” I teach instructors to be ready for real life situations, I use my experience as an active dive instructor for over fifteen years to train my candidates and prepare them for their own students. I have worked on four different continents and in different oceans. I have been exposed to so many different scenarios that my mind is full of examples to share with my students. I believe that sharing those stories will help my candidates understand what can happen and prepare them for their own future students.

How do you stand out from other Course Directors?

My passion is one of my strength. I love what I do and I want to share that passion. My life experience is another one. Everything that I teach, I can relate it to experiences that I have lived during my career as a dive guide and diving instructor. My students will learn how to be ready for real life. Finally, as a TecRec instructor, and with the variety of Specialties that I love to teach (side mount, self-reliant, etc,) I believe that I stand out because I can offer more experience to my students.

What are your goals for the future?

Here at Devocean Divers, we aim to offer higher training. Not only we want to train our instructors to a level above and beyond what is generally expected in the industry, but also, we want to offer a wider range of options for our students. Helping instructors achieve the Staff instructor course, continuing the education of instructors towards Technical Diving ratings as well as moving them towards their Master Instructor ratings, these are all part of my goals at Devocean Divers.

About Malapascua

This is a tiny island that you will call home for a couple of weeks. It has no roads, barely some paths for a few taxi motorbikes to link the north and the south of the island, which can also be crossed in 35 minutes by foot. Devocean Divers is located on the big south beach, Bounty Beach. Your classroom will directly face the ocean and if your brain is overheating you can just jump and refresh in the water. Your room will be no further away than 10 minutes’ walk, and you will be able to buy good food either in nice restaurants around our center or on the local market place 5 minutes away. Malapascua is famous for the dives with the Thresher Sharks. And because this is a 5am sunrise dive, you will be able to join that dive before a day of studying. The sunset dive with the mandarin fish is a unique experience as well, and you might also want to jump onto those dives.

From Cebu, we can organize a private transfer which will bring you straight to Malapascua in about 4 and a half hours. You can also choose to come by public transport, and if you leave bright and early, you will be with us by 2pm.

Why choose us?

Because Malapascua is a great place to learn. The dive sites are nearby, the options are varied, and you might be practicing skills with nudibranchs and seahorses around you. Devocean Divers is located in Hippocampus Beach Resort. Facing the ocean, it offers tables on the beach which you can use to drink a cup of coffee or enjoy a meal before or after your dives. As a DMT or an IDC candidate at Devocean Divers, you will benefit from a discount from their restaurant and bar. The Hippocampus bar offers live music twice a week, making it THE place to come for a drink and maybe even some dancing, or at least a fun party. You will notice that the facilities are well kept and allows our divers to feel comfortable.

Choosing Devocean Divers for your IDC is also choosing the quality of an experienced dive center. The staff has been working for Devocean Divers for many years, the dive guides have many years of experience with Devocean Divers, the two big boats are well maintained and often repainted and refreshed. The fleet is also composed of 3 smaller boats which can accommodate a more private experience and take students to the perfect location for training.

Dive master program

Our divemaster internship is led by the Course Director Walter G Schmit, the manager (MSDT Dorianne A Cuenoud), and the in-house instructors who run the day to day activities with the dive masters. The training that we offer will give to the candidates an option to learn and experience situations, follow instructors while they train OW and AOW courses, and assist dive masters with the divers. The 4 weeks program is designed to make the divemaster in training progress smoothly through his journey to become a professional dive guide. The specificity of Devocean Divers is the care and attention that we give to our divemaster candidate. It is not a “follow the instructor and you will learn by yourself” training. It is a real course, during which instructors will share their passion for diving.

Instructor Development Course

Becoming a PADI diving instructor is the big step that will allow you to live a new dream: teach diving and live from your passion. There are few things more satisfying then seeing the sparkles in the eyes of a diver who tried his first dive. A student who achieved a new skill. A diver proud of what he spotted underwater. During the IDC, you will be taught how to keep your student safe, how to follow the standards to make your student become good divers. You will review the Physics and Physiology that you have learnt during the divemaster course and you will practice the skills to a “instructor level demonstration”.

The before and after your IDC

Be prepared to live a life changing time of your life. You will enter as a divemaster, certified to guide people and share the excitement of what you see underwater. You will leave as a PADI instructor, qualified to teach people their first diving experience. You will become the one who allows unexperienced divers to get the sparkles in their eyes because their managed to breath under water, to become neutrally buoyant or to find their way with a compass.

The IDC is one time in your life experience, it will be intense, and stressful and full of moments which you will never forget.

Some more benefits

We are a PADI 5 star IDC dive center in Malapascua with a full-time PADI Course Director running regular IDCs.
Our new IDC facility includes an air-conditioned classroom with up-to-date materials, large visual aids, and interactive teaching aids. We also have all the materials you need to conduct successful teaching presentations such as descent lines, lift bags, first aid mannequins and oxygen kits.
Rental of all diving equipment is included. Discounts on our diving retail.
Our confined water training site is in the ocean, preparing you to teach in salt water environment. The open water training site is located minutes away from the dive center, no need to spend hours on the boat for a dive.
Extra workshops included, ask about the RDP, knot tying, rescue skills, or decompression theory, Walter will schedule the workshop that suits you.
Emergency First Response Instructor is included.
The Course Director will be present at the Instructor Examination for support, you won’t be alone.
Free wireless internet access is available. Coffee, tea and water refills available for Free.
Travel and visa assistance provided.

Prerequisites

To join an IDC, you should:

Hold a PADI Divemaster or Assistant Instructor qualification with current membership of PADI, or an equivalent leadership level certification with another training organization
Have proof of 60 logged dives
Have medical clearance of fitness to dive, signed by a doctor within the past 12 months
Hold proof of first aid/cardio-pulmonary resuscitation training within the last 24 months
Have been a certified diver (Open Water Diver course or equivalent) for at least six months
Be at least 18 years old

To join an IE, in addition to the above you must have proof of a minimum of 100 logged dives, and have successfully completed the IDC.

How to prepare

By preparing thoroughly in advance, you will benefit most from your IDC, and avoid feeling overloaded. Before starting the IDC, we recommend that you:

Familiarize yourself with the PADI Instructor Manual and the Guide to Teaching
Revise the five theory topics (Physics, Physiology, Equipment, Dive Skills and the Environment, Recreational Dive Planner), using the Encyclopedia of Recreational Diving and Diving Knowledge Workbook, or enroll online for Dive Theory eLearning
Make sure you have the latest version of the PADI Instructor Manual or update yours with the latest Training Bulletins
Review the 24 skills you practiced during your PADI Divemaster course
Practice the ‘Unconscious Diver at the Surface’ exercise from your PADI Rescue Diver course.

Required materials (Instructor Crew Pack, included in the price)

PADI Instructor Manual (paper or digital version)
Guide to Teaching with hologram
Specialty Instructor Manual CD-ROM
Open Water Diver cue cards (confined water)
Open Water Diver cue cards (open water)
Confined water lesson preparation slate
Open water lesson preparation slate
Adventures in Diving cue cards
Rescue Diver cue cards
Divemaster cue cards (included in your Divemaster Crew Pak)
Discover Scuba Diving cue cards (included in your Divemaster Crew Pak)
Instructor for Divemaster cue cards
Open Water Diver quizzes and exams
Rescue Diver final exams
Divemaster final exams
Encyclopedia of Recreational Diving (included in your Divemaster Crew Pak)
Diving Knowledge Workbook
eRDPml and RDP (table version) with instructions for use booklet
Manuals from Open Water to Divemaster
How to use and choose dive computers

Instructor Examination

Upon successful completion of your IDC, you will attend a PADI Instructor Examination (IE), a two days evaluation program which will give you the opportunity to demonstrate what you have learnt.

During the IE, a PADI Instructor Examiner independently and objectively assesses your knowledge and skills, testing everything from dive theory to PADI training standards.

PADI is the only certification organization that requires an objective, independent examination to qualify as a professional instructor. This balanced and consistent evaluation process is one of the hallmarks that make PADI professionals the most demanded and respected instructors in the dive industry.

Provisions may be made during written examinations for instructor candidates with learning disabilities and for those who must take the exam in another language. If you have any special needs, please let us know.