Scuba Schools International

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SSI EMEA - Germany

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legal form GmbH
founding 1970
Seat Wendelstein , Germany
Website www.divessi.com

Scuba Schools International ( SSI ) is a worldwide operating and certifying commercial training organization for divers . SSI has been part of the Head Group as a separate brand since January 1, 2014 . SSI develops teaching concepts and standards, as well as teaching material for divers of all training levels. This commercial association was founded in the United States, as was the world's largest association of its kind, PADI . SSI sees itself as the world's number two diving organization , according to PADI.

The main difference to other diving training organizations is that SSI instructors are only allowed to teach in SSI Dive Centers or at a diving club accredited by SSI or similar, which are subject to a concept similar to the franchise .

Companies

In December 2013, Head announced that it had acquired SSI. At the same time it was announced that SSI and the diving equipment manufacturer Mares, which is also part of the Head Group, will appear on the market together in the future.

Scuba Schools International was founded in 1970 and pursues a consistent expansion policy via a concept similar to the franchise system. The distribution of his training documents and the training takes place exclusively through the so-called Dive Center integrated in this franchise system , i. H. Diving centers or schools . SSI is represented with over 2,600 authorized dealers in 110 countries worldwide. SSI is a founding member of the World Recreational Scuba Training Council (WRSTC) and the United States RSTC and has been offering training in accordance with ISO  24801 and 24802 since 2012 . All SSI diving certificates are recognized worldwide and SSI generally recognizes the diving certificates ( brevets ) of other associations and thus enables the continuation of training (e.g. as a diving instructor) under its guidelines.

Education system

The SSI training system

SSI offers the following diving training courses and certifications :

Preparation for independent diving

  1. Snorkeling
  2. Try Scuba Pool ( Trial Scuba Diving Pool)
  3. Try Scuba Diving (trial dive with open water dive according to ISO 11121.)
  4. Scuba Diver ( Supervised Diver according to ISO 24801-1)

Holders of these levels may only dive in the company of a certified dive leader.

Independent diving

Holders of these levels are allowed to dive without the company of an instructor . Independent diving does not mean that the principle “Never dive alone” (see buddy system ) is canceled.

From the Master Diver onwards, the experience of the divers is recognized by the experience levels. These levels of experience reflect the number of dives completed and do not require any additional training.

Open Water Diver

The basic course, in which the basics of diving with a compressed air diving device are explained, is called Open Water Diver ( Autonomous Diver according to ISO 24801-2). The training consists of a theoretical (16 to 32 hours) and a practical part (swimming pool training and at least four open water dives).

As with all other SSI courses, there are mainly two variants:

  • The homestudy system, ie the student gets his teaching material home and prepares for each lesson. This means that the instructor's lectures can be kept short and much more time is spent on practice
  • The classic lecture system.

Advanced Adventurer

The SSI Advanced Adventurer certification can be achieved through a course in which five specialty courses are completed with one dive each .

This certification level is often skipped in the SSI system, as it is only a conditional requirement for advanced courses.

SSI itself rates this training as equivalent to the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver training; other sources see it as more equivalent to PADI Adventure Diver training.

Specialty Diver

To be certified as a Specialty Diver, at least two specialty courses must be completed and at least 12 additional dives must be completed and entered in the logbook.

The following specialty courses are currently offered by SSI:

SSI bases can also offer additional specialty courses (e.g. mountain lake or rebreather courses, etc.); These are recognized by SSI as so-called Unique Specialties and thus also apply to the further recognition levels in the SSI system.

Each specialty course consists of a theoretical and a practical part (at least 2 dives for the majority of specialties, but at least 3 dives for Stress & Rescue and deep diving; no dive is provided for the Nitrox specialty). If a diver is already certified as an Advanced Adventurer and has already done a dive in the desired specialty, this can - at the discretion of the instructor - be counted towards the specialty course.

When combining two or more specialty courses, dives can be combined as follows:

Number of specialties combined Minimum number of dives
2 3
3 4th
4th 5
5 7th

However, not all specialty courses can be combined with others (e.g. deep diving).

Advanced Open Water Diver

To be certified as an SSI Advanced Open Water Diver , at least 4 specialty courses must be completed and at least 24 dives performed and entered in the logbook. SSI itself rates its AOWD higher than the PADI training of the same name. In contrast, however, many other providers see the AOWD beverages from SSI and PADI as being equivalent, especially since the PADI course has more training content.

In contrast to other training organizations, the AOWD at SSI is not a course, just an experience level.

Master Diver

To be certified as a Master Diver, at least 4 specialty courses and the Stress & Rescue course must be completed and at least 50 additional dives must be carried out and entered in the logbook. The Master Diver is the highest certification level for SSI recreational divers. Afterwards, further training in the professional field is possible (training as a diving instructor), or alternatively a specialization as a techdiver.

Experience level for divers

These further levels are experience levels.

  • Century Diver → 100 dives entered in the logbook
  • Silver Diver → 300 dives entered in the logbook
  • Gold 500 Diver → 500 dives entered in the logbook
  • Platinum 1000 Diver → 1000 dives entered in the logbook
  • Platinum 5000 Diver → 5000 dives entered in the logbook

Diving instructor

SSI trains diving guides , assistants and diving instructors at the following levels:

  1. Diveguide (DG, Dive Leader according to ISO 24801-3)
  2. Divemaster (DM)
  3. Dive Control Specialist (DCS, Scuba Instructor at Level 1 according to ISO 24802-1 The DCS is often abbreviated as "DiveCon".)
  4. Open Water Instructor (OWI, Scuba Instructor at Level 2 according to ISO 24802-2)
  5. Training Specialist (DCS with training authorization for individual specialty)
  6. Open Water Instructor (OWI, Scuba Instructor at Level 2 according to ISO 24802-2)
  7. Specialty instructor
  8. Advanced Open Water Instructor (AOWI)
  9. Divemaster Instructor (DMI)
  10. Dive Control Specialist Instructor (DiveCon Trainer / DCSI)
  11. Master Instructor (recognition level for training experience. The minimum requirement is the Advanced Open Water Instructor)
  12. Instructor Trainer (IT)
  13. Instructor Certifier (IC)

The other levels are experience levels:

  • Century Instructor → at least 100 experience points
  • Gold 500 Instructor → at least 500 experience points
  • Platinum 1000 Instructor → at least 1000 experience points
  • Platinum 5000 Instructor → at least 5000 experience points

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. training. HEDRA Tauchsport, accessed on January 10, 2019 : " SSI Scuba Schools International is a global commercial diving instructor association. [...] It was founded in 1970 and pursues a consistent expansion policy using a concept similar to the franchise system. The distribution of his training documents takes place via diving schools, diving bases and diving shops. "
  2. There are so many diving organizations. Which is the best? Divers FAQ. dive.steha.ch, accessed on January 10, 2019 : "SSI maintains a kind of franchising system to which all SSI diving centers and SSI diving instructors have to submit."
  3. MARES takes over SSI. In: diving . December 10, 2013, accessed December 12, 2013 .
  4. SSI joins MARES. Head / Mares, December 11, 2013, accessed December 12, 2013 .
  5. a b Recreational diving services - Requirements for the training of recreational scuba divers - Part 1: Level 1 - Supervised diver (ISO 24801-1). ISO , accessed April 29, 2015 .
  6. Recreational diving services - Requirements for the training of scuba instructors - Part 1: Level 1 (ISO 24802-1). ISO , accessed April 29, 2015 .
  7. SSI training system - divers. SSI International, accessed November 20, 2012 .
  8. Recreational diving services - Requirements for introductory training programs to scuba diving (ISO 11121). ISO , accessed April 29, 2015 .
  9. Recreational diving services - Requirements for the training of recreational scuba divers - Part 2: Level 2 - Autonomous diver (ISO 24801-2). ISO , accessed April 29, 2015 .
  10. a b c d SSI equivalences (PDF). (PDF; 19 kB) (No longer available online.) SSI International, archived from the original on September 28, 2013 ; Retrieved November 20, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.tauchturm.com
  11. a b Dive agency Crossovers BSAC, CMAS, SSI, NAUI & SAA to PADI , (English) James Brabyn, IDC Guide, accessed October 1, 2012
  12. SSI training system - Dive Professional. SSI International, accessed November 19, 2012 .
  13. a b c Become a Dive Professional ( Memento of the original from June 23, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Cold Water Divers Schaffhausen, accessed on February 7, 2012 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.coldwaterdivers.ch
  14. Recreational diving services - Requirements for the training of recreational scuba divers - Part 3: Level 3 - Dive leader (ISO 24801-3). ISO , accessed April 29, 2015 .
  15. Recreational diving services - Requirements for the training of scuba instructors - Part 1: Level 1 (ISO 24802-1). ISO , accessed April 29, 2015 .
  16. Dive Control Specialist - What do I require to start my SSI DiveCon Upgrade course? iQ-DIVE, accessed on September 20, 2016 (English).
  17. Recreational diving services - Requirements for the training of scuba instructors - Part 2: Level 2 (ISO 24802-2). ISO , accessed April 29, 2015 .