Instructor Development Course (IDC)

Why Become a PADI Instructor

Are you looking for something extraordinary? Would you like a career doing things that others can only dream of? In your work would you like to not only transform your life but the lives of others? How would you feel if doors opened that you didn’t even know existed? Have you ever thought about making money doing what you enjoy? Are you feeling “burned out” at your current occupation? Have you ever wondered what would it feel like to look forward to going to work in the morning? Would you like to be qualified to work in warm tropical locations throughout the world? If your answer to any of these questions is yes, then you should consider becoming a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor.

Florida Keys Dive Center:

Florida Keys Dive Center became a PADI Instructor Training Facility in 1987 and is one of the four PADI Career Development Centers located in Florida. We have successfully trained hundreds of PADI Open Water Scuba Instructors and we are proud to say that our success rate is 100%. Instructors we have trained now work throughout the United States and around the world. We have two Course Directors on staff who collectively have over 29 years training PADI instructors. We are located at mile marker 90.5 ocean side in the Tavernier section of the city of Islamorada. We dive sites located in Key Largo, Tavernier and Islamorada. We are 1 ½ hours from Miami airport and 2 hours from Ft. Lauderdale airport. Roundtrip bus transportation is available from the Miami airport for approximately $40.00. A Thrifty Car Rental is within walking distance. Information about our three Course Directors and the rest of our staff is available on our Meet the Staff page. Click here for our 2011 course dates.

Instructor Development Course

The Instructor Development Course (IDC) is the cornerstone of PADI’s professional-level training. The course has two components, the Assistant Instructor Course (AI) and the Open Water Scuba Instructor Course (IDC). Most people complete the entire IDC at one time; however, some people choose to complete the AI Course and gain experience teaching before completing the OWSI Course and taking the Instructor Exam (IE). Although PADI requires the IDC be taught in a minimum of five days (5) days after candidates have completed the IDC on-line, we have found that five (5) days rushes our candidates and puts additional stress on them. We, therefore, have lengthen our IDC to a seven (7) day course that starts on Saturday and concludes on the following Friday. These additional two days not only reduces stress on our candidates but also allows our Course Directors to devote additional time critiquing the instructor candidate’s presentations which allows the candidates to further develop their teaching skills. Our IDCs are limited to six candidates so we can assure each candidate will receive the attention needed to develop the skills required to be successful PADI professional educators. During the IDC you will be introduced to the complete PADI System and learn how to teach all the core PADI Courses (PADI Scuba Diver, PADI Open Water Diver, Adventure Diver, Advanced Open Water Diver, Rescue Diver and PADI Divemaster), some PADI Specialties (Peak Performance Buoyancy, Aware Coral Reef Conservation and Project Aware) and some PADI Programs such as Discover Scuba Diving (PADI’s introductory program). During the IDC you will learn teaching techniques in confined water, open water and the classroom. You will develop your confined water skills and rescue skills to instructor level. You will also learn various “real world teaching techniques” that our Course Directors and staff have learned over the years. These “real world teaching techniques” will benefit you extremely when you start teaching in the “real world of dive instruction”. Our IDC is designed to prepare you to teach safely and successfully in the “real world” and not just to train you “how to pass” the Instructor Exam. During the IDC, attention will also be focused on becoming familiar with the PADI Instructor Manual and PADI’s Guide to Teaching. These books are invaluable learning tools you will use during and after the IDC. Upon completing our IDC, you will have an excellent understanding of how to use and apply PADI Standards and Procedures when teaching in the “real world”. PADI Standards and Procedures are the code that PADI Instructors live by. Upon completing the IDC our Course Directors will advise you whether you have developed sufficiently as a PADI professional educator and are ready to take the Instructor Exam.

Traditional IDC or PADI's On-Lne IDC?

The Course Directors at Florida Keys Dive Center encourage candidates seeking to become PADI professional educators to complete PADI’s on-line portion of the IDC prior to the AI Course or the IDC. PADI’s on-line portion of the IDC consists of ten (10) sessions or lectures. These sessions are: Introduction (explains how to use on-line IDC), Standards and Procedures Part 1, Learning Instruction and the PADI System, Risk Management Part 1, Marketing Diving, Start Diving, Teaching PADI Specialty Diver Courses, Business of Diving, Keep Diving and How to Teach the RDP. These sessions are completed at your own pace and convenience when you are “ready to learn”. Each on-line session concludes with an exam to assure you fully understand the information presented. By completing PADI’s on-line IDC you will have completed two days of the IDC and be eligible to attend a seven (7) day IDC with our Course Directors rather than the nine (9) day traditional IDC. For many instructor candidates eliminating two (2) days from the traditional IDC is appealing because they will reduce lodging and food expenses and also have less time from work. PADI’s price for the on-line IDC is $320.00.

You can register on-line for PADI’s e-learning IDC by clicking here. When you register on-line you must affiliate with a PADI dive center, Florida Keys Dive Center. If you do sign up for PADI’s on-line IDC then your IDC will start on Saturday morning rather than on Thursday. If, however, you need the Emergency First Response Instructor (EFRI) course (required to receive teaching status from PADI) then you will need to be ready to begin the EFRI course on Friday morning. For those candidates who do complete PADI’s on-line portion of the IDC prior to the start of the IDC and who affiliate with Florida Keys Dive Center when they sign up for PADI’s on-line IDC we will offer 1) FREE OF CHARGE the PADI Enriched Air Specialty Instructor Course (must be a PADI Enriched Air Diver or equivalent-PADI offers the Enriched Air Diver Course on-line for $195.00) and 2) the PADI Oxygen Provider Course and PADI Oxygen Provider Instructor Specialty Course. PADI’s Enriched Air Diver Specialty is PADI’s number one specialty course and the free PADI Enriched Air Specialty Instructor Course will be taught immediately following the IE. PADI’s Oxygen Provider Instructor Specialty Course will be taught on the Monday following the IE and will consume a half day. PADI’s Oxygen Provider Instructor Specialty Course does not include the cost of materials (the Oxygen Provider Manual, non-rebreather mask and the PIC card) which are $60.00 plus tax. These complementary courses have a value in excess of $400.00. When you submit your Specialty Instructor Application to PADI there will be fees of $49.00 for each specialty.

Dive Theory Requirements

A prerequisite for taking the Instructor Exam is passing five (5) professional level Dive Theory Exams during the IDC. The Dive Theory Exams are on Physics, Physiology, Decompression Theory and the Recreational Dive Planner, Equipment and Skills and Environment. Our Course Directors are confident that during the IDC they can teach you the knowledge and skills you need to deliver passing Knowledge Development (classroom), Confined Water and Open Water presentations at the IE; however, they can not take the exams for you at the IE. During the IDC there isn’t time for our Course Directors to teach you the knowledge you need to pass the Dive Theory Exams. We expect instructor candidates to have a passing knowledge of Dive Theory prior to the IDC so they have an excellent chance of passing the exams at the IE. You have three ways to learn dive theory. Option one, which we highly recommend, is PADI’s Dive Theory on-line. PADI’s price for the Dive Theory on-line is $100.00. You can register for PADI’s Dive Theory on-line by clicking here. When you register on-line you must affiliate with a PADI dive center, Florida Keys Dive Center. You can view PADI’s Dive Theory on-line as many times as you like within twelve (12) months. After completing the Dive Theory on-line you meet the requirements for passing the Dive Theory Exams at the IDC and do not need to take them again during the IDC. The Dive Theory on-line approach reduces the IDC by one-half (1/2) day. If you feel you need additional time to study for Dive Theory we will provide you additional practice exams the first day of the IDC. Option two is to study Dive Theory on your own by purchasing and using the Knowledge Development Workbook and the Encyclopedia of Recreational Diving. Option three is to arrive a day early for the IDC and have one of our Course Directors teach you Dive Theory. To have one of our Course Directors teach you dive theory takes a day and costs an additional $200.00.

Master Scuba Diver Trainer Course and Specialty Instructor Training Courses

The more PADI Specialties you can teach the more marketable you become and the more valuable you are to an employer. One way to qualify to teach specialties is to take Specialty Instructor Training Courses and complete the Master Scuba Diver Trainer Course. Specialty Instructor Training Courses are taught by PADI Course Directors. In the Specialty Instructor Training Courses a Course Director reviews the PADI Standards and Procedures for each PADI Specialty you are learning to teach. The Course Directors also provide you hints, tips and suggestions on how to conduct the dives as well as how to market the specialty. For instance, on the Wreck Diver Specialty Instructor Course a Course Director will show you how to use a reel and penetrate into a wreck. On the Navigation Specialty Instructor Course a Course Director will show you how to set up an underwater navigation course with at least five turns and degree headings. After completing a Specialty Instructor Training Course you only need 10 logged dives in that specialty and to submit an application to PADI to begin teaching that specialty to your students. For instance, if you enroll in PADI’s IDC on-line and PADI’s dive theory on-line and affiliate with Florida Keys Dive Center then, as mentioned above, we will free of charge complete your Enriched Air Specialty Instructor Course following the IE and after submitting the Specialty Instructor Application to PADI you can start teaching the Enriched Air Specialty to your students along with all the core courses. If you don’t take the PADI Enriched Air Specialty Instructor Course, then you would have to wait until you have certified 25 divers and have 20 logged dives with enrich air before you could apply to PADI to teach the Enriched Air Specialty Course. The Master Scuba Diver Trainer Course consists of five (5) PADI Specialties that are taught by a Course Director. In addition to PADI’s Enrich Air Specialty we recommend the Navigation, Deep, Wreck and/or Search and Recovery Specialties. We recommend Navigation and Deep because they are required dives for the Advance Open Water certification. We recommend the Search and Recovery and Deep because your Divemaster candidates can receive credit toward their Skill 4 Search and Recovery Scenario and Skill 5 Deep Scenario in their Divemaster Course. We recommend the Wreck Diver Instructor Specialty because divers around the world like the thrill of penetrating wrecks. Our Master Scuba Diver Trainer Course is $695.00. The PADI Enriched Air Instructor Specialty and PADI Oxygen Provider Instructor Course we offer for completing the IDC on-line and the dive theory on-line and affiliating with Florida Keys Dive Center qualify for two of the five specialties needed for Master Scuba Diver Trainer. The charge for the other four specialties is $495.00. This discounted price does not include the materials and fees for the PADI Oxygen Provider Course which is $60.00 plus tax. Individual Specialty Instructor Courses are $200.00 each.

Lodging

We have many different selections of lodging available at various prices. One of the most popular lodging selections is the Keys Motel which is located a block from our dive center. Room prices start at $50.00 per night and accommodate two people. Because the IDC is an intense course we recommend that you have a private room so you can devote the time you need to prepare your teaching presentations and improve your Dive Theory Knowledge; however, if you would like a roommate to reduce expenses please advise us and we will do our best to pair you up with another candidate seeking a roommate. We also book at Ocean Pointe which is located approximately three miles from the dive center and has two bedroom units that can sleep up to six (6) comfortably. Depending on availability we may have guest quarter lodging as low as $25.00 per night.

Convenience

Within walking distance of the dive center is lodging, the heated swimming pool we use during the IDC, car rental, several restaurants and a shopping center with a grocery store, post office, drug store and movie theatre.

Internships

Some dive centers offer an internship lasting six months or longer as a means to pay for your prerequisite courses and your IDC. After you pass the I.E to complete your internship these dive centers require you to certify twenty five (25) of their customers. Beware of these dive centers and their internships. TIME IS MONEY!!! These dive centers often have interns working 9 or more hours a day and 7 days a week prior to the I.E. Following the I.E you may work several more months trying to obtain your 25 certifications and your Master Scuba Diver Trainer rating. You can easily find yourself in a situation where you have worked in this internship program over 2,000 hours to obtain your education and Master Scuba Diver Training rating. At an hourly wage of $5.00 per hour your training would cost you $10,000.00 or more. The same education at Florida Keys Dive Center would cost you less than $4,500.00. If you fail to complete your internship then you owe the dive center the full price for the courses you completed. In essence, you have become an indentured servant of this dive center. We have had individuals who started their education at these dive centers come to us to finish their education after realizing their precarious situation. At Florida Keys Dive Center we do not offer an internship program with such harsh requirements. We do offer to individuals who we believe will mesh well with our staff, be courteous to our customers and perform the duties requested of them to work with our staff and gain experience in the operation of our dive center and in training various levels of students. We have had individuals gain this invaluable experience before and after an IDC/IE. The individual determines the length of their experience. We’ve had some individuals take advantage of this offer to gain experience and allowed them to reduce the cost of their dive education and to join our staff.

Customization

If you’re interested in completing an Assistant Instructor, Open Water Scuba Instructor or Instructor Development Course on dates other than on our standard schedule we do offer customized courses. Please call or e-mail us to discuss your needs and we will do our best to design a program that will work for you.

Why Choose Florida Keys Dive Center

• PADI Career Development Center with three (3) Course Directors who have over 36 years combined experience teaching IDCs.
• 100% success rate
• IDCs limited to 6 candidates
• Key Largo IE starts Friday night and all teaching presentations are received at Friday night’s orientations session
• Six dives (three on the beautiful reefs of the Florida Keys and one on a wreck)
• Lodging, several restaurants and a shopping center with a grocery store, post office, drug store, car rental and movie theatre within walking distance
• Located 1 ½ hours from Miami airport and 2 hours from Ft. Lauderdale airport with round trip bus service available from Miami airport for approximately $40.00
• Two 46 ft. Newton custom dive boats
• EFR Instructor Course available during IDC program
• Air conditioned professional classroom
• Job placement assistance
• Assistance preparing resume
• Course Directors available for questions years after the IE
• Course flexibility and customization
• Internships available with opportunities to learn boat skills, compressors, tank filling and teaching experience
• Friendly experienced staff
• Assortment of lodging choices
• Multi candidate discounts and special scheduling available
• Up to 20% equipment discounts
• On site gear storage
• On site BBQ grill
• On site refrigerators
• Customized teaching handouts and “real world teaching tips”
• Free Enriched Air Specialty Instructor Course and PADI Oxygen Provider Specialty Instructor Course with completion of PADI IDC on-line and affiliation with Florida Keys Dive Center at time of enrolling in PADI’s on-line IDC

PREREQUISITES

To qualify for training as a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor, you must:

• Be certified as a PADI Divemaster or a PADI Assistant Instructor or be an instructor in good standing with another training organization for at least six months (check with a PADI Course Director or Contact Us for qualifying credentials.)
• Be at least 18 years old
• Be certified as a diver for at least six months
• Have 60 logged dives that include experience in night, deep and navigation diving to participate in the Instructor Development Course. You’ll need 100 logged dives to take the Instructor Exams
• Have proof of CPR and First Aid training within the last 24 months. The Emergency First Response coursemeets this requirement
• Complete PADI’s Medical Statement (PDF) which MUST BE signed by a physician within the last 12 months stating you are fit to dive even if all answers on the Questionnaire are “No”.
  

Required Learning Materials

The Required Learning Materials You Will Need

The PADI Instructor Development Course crewpack includes all the materials needed for the Instructor Development Course and to start teaching. The 23-item pack includes:

• Instructor cue cards for PADI’s core courses (Open Water, Advanced, Rescue and Divemaster)
• PADI’s Guide to Teaching
• Reference materials
• Lesson planning slates for confined and open water
• Quiz and exam booklets for the core courses
• Specialty Instructor Manual
• Reference Books

To purchase this product, contact us well in advance of the IDC.

COURSE INCLUDES

• All charter fees (6 dives with at least one dive on a wreck Spiegel Grove, Duane, Bibb or Eagle)
• Pool fees
• Tanks, weights and air fills
• A student discount of up to 20% on equipment purchased during the program

WHAT TO BRING OR SHIP

• Full scuba equipment including proper exposure protection
• Student manuals from prior PADI Courses
• RDP and ERDPML (may be purchased through dive center)
  

PRICE

• $1,295.00 plus materials for the traditional 9 day IDC
• Special on-line pricing is $1099.00, plus materials, for the 7 day IDC and 1 day EFRI courses when a candidate takes the on-line IDC and on-line dive theory and affiliates with Florida Keys Dive Center at the time of on-line registration
• $600.00 for IDC crew pack and EFRI crew pack with on-line IDC and on-line dive theory and affiliation with Florida Keys Dive Center at the time of on-line registration (the IDC crew pack retails for $750.00 and the EFRI crew pack retails for $250.00)
• $800.00 for IDC crew pack and EFRI crew pack with on-line IDC and affiliation with Florida Keys Dive Center at the time of on-line registration
• A $150.00 deposit is required along with a signed Enrollment Agreement at the time of registration
• Register by calling 1-305-852-4599 or 1-800-433-8946 or online Reservations
• To receive the on-line specials above there must be a minimum of two candidates in the IDC program

PADI’S ON-LINE PORTION OF THE IDC

• Price $320.00
• Dive Theory $100.00
• Register

RATES SUBJECT TO CHANGE

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