Competencies and qualifications of scuba instructors

These Standards specify the competencies that a scuba instructor ought to achieve in order for a training organization to award the scuba instructor certification indicating that he has met or exceeded the required competencies and specify assessment of these competencies.

Competencies of a scuba instructor at level 1

A level 1 scuba instructor shall be trained to be qualified to:

• teach and assess scuba students up to level 1 on their theoretical knowledge
• and teach and assess scuba students up to level 1 in confined water.

If supervised and authorised by a scuba instructor level 2:

• gain progressive experience in teaching and assessing the theoretical knowledge of scuba diver levels 2 to 3,
• teach any level of scuba diver in confined water,
• gain progressive experience in teaching and assessing open water surface skills.

If supervised and directly observed by a scuba instructor level 2:

• gain progressive experience in teaching and evaluating in confined and open water.

Competencies of a scuba instructor at level 2

A level 2 scuba instructor shall be trained to be qualified to:

• plan, organise and conduct dives and lead other recreational scuba divers of all levels in open water, including rescue activities,
• teach and assess students up to scuba diver level 1, level 2 and level 3,
• supervise level 1 scuba instructors,
• plan, organise and conduct scuba diver training courses, with suitable additional training or experience to plan,
• organise and conduct appropriate speciality or diving operational activities.

The training programme specified in this International Standards shall ensure that scuba divers are qualified to

• plan, conduct and log EAN open-water, no-decompression dives, when accompanied by another scuba diver of at least level 2 "Autonomous Diver", in accordance with ISO 24801-2;
• procure EAN mixes, EAN equipment and other services to engage in recreational EAN diving without supervision.

The training programme does not qualify divers to make dives which require mandatory in-water decompression stops or dives using more than one breathing gas and/or rebreathers.

A Nitrox training programme in accordance with this standard may be conducted in conjunction with scuba diver training in accordance with ISO 24801-2, but the certification shall not be issued until such time as the student has finalized all certification requirements in accordance with ISO 24801-2.

This International Standard specifies minimum programme content requirements for introductory scuba experiences in recreational scuba diving and applies to program-mes that include participants being taken into an open water environment.

It does not apply to programmes that are exclusively conducted in a confined water environment (e.g. swimming pools). Under no conditions are these requirements considered to be a standard for the training and certification of scuba divers.

Instead, these requirements are used to introduce a non-diver to recreational scuba diving by means of a supervised, controlled dive experience, and to encourage the participant to seek further training.

The introductory diving programme does not result in certification, but is experiential in nature; consequently, in-depth knowledge of diving academics and skills is not necessary. Participants are taught only what is required of them to experience scuba diving under direct supervision.