Instructor Development Course (IDC)
The Aquatic Center’s professional-level training programs have been licensed by the State Board of Nonpublic Career Education since 1989.
The Aquatic Center is the only licensed facility in north central Florida. Because of the tremendous increase in the general population’s interest in scuba diving, retail dive stores and diving resorts have experienced a similar growth. This expansion has created many vacancies within the recreational scuba industry. Aquatic Center has responded to the demand for highly trained, professional diving instructors with programs geared to the recreational scuba market of today. Using the most current, up-to-date instructional materials and programs, coupled with proven success in recreational scuba training gives our students unparalleled qualification for positions in this fast growing world of recreational scuba diving.
Applicants for the IDC must be certified as a PADI Divemaster, have been diving for a minimum of 6 months and able to provide proof of at least 60 logged dives.
The PADI Instructor Development Course (IDC) is an extensive preparatory program consisting of twenty-two (22) training segments. The curriculum is extremely varied and involves lectures, workshop discussions, and practice teaching sessions in the classroom, pool and open water. The IDC has undergone some revisions this year. Candidates completing the updated IDC and successfully completing their IE have a broader knowledge of dive operations and customer service. This not only makes it easier for dive center and resort owners to bring an instructor into the fold, but also gives the new instructor more marketable skills.
The new IDC is in 3 parts. Part 1 is independent learning where the instructor candidate self studies PADI standards that apply to each program. Part 2 is the 3 day Assistant Instructor Course where the candidate learns the tools to practice teaching classroom, pool, and open water training dives. Part 3 is the 4 day Open Water Scuba Instructor Course that not only prepares the candidates to pass the Instructor Examination, but also to be good instructors. There are several scheduling options from the traditional 7 day program, to weekend courses and private scheduling. Five sections of the revised IDC are especially important in crafting the new instructor: Business Principles for the Dive Instructor, Diver Retention Programs, The Role of Media and Prescriptive Teaching and finally, Legal Responsibility and Risk Management.
Today’s instructors do much more than just teach classes. They need to be equipment counselors, salesmen, businessmen and teachers. The revised IDC will better equip instructors to meet the daily challenges of being a dive professional.