Wednesday 01 / May / 2024
Muscat: Oman is known for its natural and pristine scuba diving sites globally.
Intrigued by the diversity of its marine life and snorkeling activities, people from across the world throng its natural, white beaches for diving, water sports, including swimming and surfing. There are professional guides and operators who teach and guide the initiated and the uninitiated alike.
In the last few years, however, scuba diving industry in Oman had taken a big hit despite there being a huge potential of offering the visitors the experiences of a lifetime.
One of the reasons, among others, could be that there was acute shortage of professional instructors with the last PADI instructor examination conducted in 2019!
In September 2022, the PADI Course Director, who is the only one competent to conduct the Instructor Development Course, and is affiliated with the Gulf Divers Oman, managed to revive the programme.
The Instructor examination (IE), an evaluation programme following the IDC is conducted by a PADI examiner, was held this weekend which witnessed a 100% success rate in Muscat.
All the participants have succeeded, earning for themselves a PADI instructor certification.
Sharing her experiences during the course, one of the candidates said, “There are moments when your capacity is tested despite the knowledge and skills that you already have. However, the effort was extremely rewarding and worth it. I have grown as a diver and I can't wait to continue my professional education.”
Another candidate said, “I never thought I shall be able to be a scuba instructor. The experience and learning we had during our IDC has helped me pass the IE comfortably, I can’t wait when I shall have my own students and teach them how to love our oceans.”
Lauding the course, PADI Course Director Bechir Chehab said, “The PADI IDC is an intense but very rewarding programme. The aim is to impart knowledge and skills to the candidates so that they, in turn, impart their skills to the learners. They work very hard. Passing the IE was no big deal. It came their way with utmost ease because the candidates were passionate and committed to the cause. My students love our oceans, along the Oman coast which has many beautiful, protected marine reserves. I am very pleased to see that we were able to have this programme again after such a long time. Now armed with an IE certificate, my students can continue either a full-time or a part-time job which will ensure them some extra income.”
Bechir further said, “Another role that we all must play, both divers as well as non-divers, is to protect our marine environment. With more instructors, we will be able to offer additional tips, support and initiatives and have more awareness about the oceans.”
The Instructor Development Course (IDC) is made up of two parts, namely, the Assistant Instructor (AI) course and the Open Water Scuba Instructor (OWSI) programme. Most diving professionals complete the entire IDC and take the Instructor Examination (IE), which is the final step to earn a PADI Instructor certification. The programme can only be conducted at a five star IDC diving centre and currently the Gulf Divers Oman, located in Bandar Marina Rawda, is the only diving operator conducting it.
