Or more precisely, why become an SSI Dive Pro over a PADI Dive Pro? Let’s face it, unless you have specific goals to work in a specific destination for a handful of specific businesses, then these are really the only two agencies to consider. Here at Big Blue Pro, we firmly believe that choosing SSI is the best option, and are happy to provide you with many reasons why!
Work Opportunities in Scuba Diving
In general as a diving professional, you will find amazing opportunities to live and work in fabulous diving locations all over the world – and of course, right here diving on Koh Tao too. Currently, there are more positions available than SSI Divemasters and Instructors, so jobs are out there waiting for you!
Since 2010, SSI has held the number one position as the fastest-growing agency in the world. SSI dive centers comprise a 30% share of the global market – that’s more than 3400 individual dive centers. Over 160 of these are in Thailand, and around 30 just on Koh Tao, which is great news for those who want to stay in the tropics and enjoy our crystal clear waters, amazing marine life sightings and of course the temperate climate, beautiful sunsets and laid back island lifestyle in general.
Here at Big Blue Pro, we take your SCUBA career very seriously. We are passionate about creating successful instructors and offer a unique Job Placement Promise to help you find your feet as a new SSI Open Water Instructor.
Cost savings for You
Unlike other agencies, the SSI system is much more supportive of individual instructors trying to upgrade their qualifications and expand on their teaching abilities. With SSI your annual dive pro renewal fee includes access to all student materials, free downloads for all instructor materials, and some free upgrades too!
The more you teach the more you get back, as the SSI Pro Rewards program gives you the ability to earn discounts on your renewal fee itself! You earn points for every certification you issue and also for any additional instructor qualifications you earn. Each point is worth 0.10 €/USD. As an example, you earn 4 points for issuing an SSI Open Water Diver certification. So if you certify 10 SSI Open Water Divers in a month, you get 40 Points. That’s 4 €/USD. Multiply this by 12 and you have a total of 48€/USD discount on your renewal at the end of the year. And that’s just based on Open Water certifications, without considering other courses or any Instructor Upgrades you may take.
In terms of completing your initial pro level training, the cost of becoming a dive professional is generally less with SSI too, as the application fees are nowhere near as expensive. Here at Big Blue Pro, we have a range of SSI Divemaster Packages and SSI Instructor Packages. We also offer an SSI Open Water to Instructor Package and an SSI Advanced Adventurer to Instructor Package to suit a variety of different certification levels as your entry point. All of our packages include your certification costs and SSI fees for the first year, so there are no hidden charges or additional bills.
Quality of Training
SSI evaluates to a much higher standard than other diving agencies, requiring a passing score of at least 90% in all elements of evaluation. To compare this to other agencies, PADI only requires a 75% passing score at Divemaster and Instructor levels. A higher passing score ensures that you are a competent and capable instructor on completion of your Koh Tao Instructor Training Course (ITC) with us. Despite this requirement, Big Blue Pro proudly boasts a 100% success rate for all of our previous candidates. In fact, we offer a guaranteed pass, or we cover the costs if you need to be re-evaluated at a later date.
The reason we are able to guarantee success to our candidates is due to the caliber of the Big Blue Pro team. Our hand-picked group of award-winning instructors come from all walks of life and have unrivaled experience and knowledge to share with you across a wide range of fields and disciplines. Plus our lead Instructor Trainer, Simon Garrity, is quite literally the world’s leading SSI instructor. As well as being an SSI Instructor Trainer, Simon is also an SSI Instructor Certifier and an SSI International Training Director, and one of only 3 International Training Directors in the entire southeast Asia region. So if you want to learn from the best, you’ve come to the right place!
Practicalities of Teaching
One of the main benefits of affiliating to SSI rather than PADI is the flexibility and student-centered approach adopted by the SSI teaching model…
The PADI system of learning is very rigid, whereas the SSI system allows its instructors more leeway when it comes to the practicalities of teaching. For example, SSI instructors can personalize the course by adding additional exercises if they feel it will enhance their students’ skill level. In the PADI system, this would be classified as ‘over-teaching’ and is prohibited.
While every agency has lesson plans and preferred sequencing orders, PADI has a strict script for what must be completed in each confined water session and open water dive. Of course, SSI also has a list of skills that must be learned and mastered, but the order of teaching can be tailored towards each student. For example, if a student were to struggle with a mask skill in confined water training, the SSI teaching model allows you to move on to other skills, and return to this later once the student has built up more confidence. Essentially this provides the flexibility in any given group of students, for each student diver to learn at their own pace. However, in the PADI system, you are not permitted to progress on to the next skill in the learning sequence until you have mastered the preceding skill.
There are positives and negatives to each approach, but in general, we favor SSI’s approach and the flexibility the teaching model offers to both instructors and students.
The Ecological Factor
SSI is truly on board the digital revolution. With digital courses available in 42 different languages, and a total of over 14,700 individual digital items issued, great strides are being made to reduce the environmental impacts associated with printed materials. While other agencies are still dragging their heels on bringing all courses and materials into the digital realm, this is not true of SSI.
In addition to digital student materials, SSI Instructor materials are also readily available to download digitally. This includes new exams, updated instructor manuals, videos, PowerPoint presentations, cue cards, forms, training records, and even a digital dive log. As a dive center whose ethos is so deeply rooted in conservation, this is very important to us – and we hope it is important to you too!
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: Are SSI certifications recognized all over the world?
A: Yes. As the statistics at the start of this blog state, SSI is one of the market leaders, and SSI certifications are recognized globally.
Q: I have done my entry level course(s) with PADI. Can I switch and continue in the SSI system without having to repeat courses?
A: Absolutely. Both PADI and SSI are members of the WRSTC (World Recreational Scuba Training Council). As such their qualifications at recreational level meet the same required standards are taken on a like-for-like basis.
Do you have any more questions about training to become an SSI dive pro? Feel free to contact us, or drop Simon an email directly on [email protected].
