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LEADERSHIP IN DIVING

DIVEMASTER

         (R6 000.00)

A RAID Divemaster is one of the most highly respected ratings in the dive community and the first Pro level within the RAID system. RAID Divemaster is a prerequisite to becoming a RAID Dive Instructor. As a RAID Divemaster you can plan, organise and lead dives for certified divers.

If you love diving and want to share your passion with others or if you are looking for an exciting career or to travel Planet Ocean with a professional credential under your belt, a RAID Divemaster course is for you.

Pre-Requisites

Please contact us for the full details of the requirements and prerequisites for this course. 

The following is a indication of the requirements to become a RAID Divemaster. You must first complete as a minimum the following courses (this information does not cover everything):

  • Open Water 20,

  • Nitrox

  • Advanced 35

  • Deep 40

  • First Aid

  • Navigation

  • Master Rescue Diver.

We also highly recommend you complete at least two other specialty ratings that will help build on your professional standing, such as those that may be useful and unique to your area of employment (e.g. Wreck Diver if your local region has a wreck site or Night and limited visibility Diver if there is a popular night dive in your vicinity).

You will require a minimum 25 hours of logged in-water experience and 60 logged dives in open water to become a RAID Divermaster. We feel this is essential to set you up for completing the course and to take on the necessary responsibilities that come with a professional level qualification. You will also need to have a diving medical less than 6 months old, that is signed-off on by a licensed medical practitioner.

Note that at RAID, we require a higher standard of training than most other diver training agencies at all levels. It is not that the RAID training is more difficult, it is just more comprehensive and therefore we believe that we typically train better divers. If you have undertaken training from another training agency we do recognise this training; however in most instances, you will find you need to do some additional training prior to starting with RAID, especially if you have only fulfilled the minimum requirements required by most other agencies. For example, you will be required to provide documented evidence of at least 5 hours of diving to more than 27 meters / 90 feet and have been trained to 40 meters / 130 feet.

Also at RAID we do not feel good buoyancy control should be part of a specialty diver certification. If you have come through the RAID system you would have been taught to hover in the horizontal diver position. If not, there will be a workshop provided to train you in this vital buoyancy skill.

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Course Content
dive instructors

The RAID Divemaster course teaches you above all to be a leader among your peers and other divers generally. You will have the ability to lead and control dives, act as a safety and rescue person on organised dives, assist RAID Instructors in training and generally be in charge of organised dive activities.

Through a combination of our cutting edge online training and interaction with your RAID Instructor, your diving knowledge will be honed to a very high level, preparing you to look after others. This will ultimately prepare you for RAID Instructor training.

Your in-water skills will be refined to demonstration quality for dive students. You will also be prepared to support RAID Instructors during other practical parts of RAID training courses, including being trained to assess dive conditions and potential risks at dive sites.
 

Topics and practical workshops include:

 

Academic Section (all online):
• Diving in General
• Environment
• Dive Equipment
• Physics
• Physiology
• Rescue
• Management

Practical Section:
• Review of personal diving skills
• Stamina and watermanship skills
• Diver rescues
• Dive briefing and dive site evaluations
• Risk management exercises
• Environment dive mapping
• Assisting and conducting programmes

 

Part 1: Supervision of student divers 

  • Assist with Open Water 20 Training

  • Assist with Advanced Training 

  • Assist with Master Rescue Training


Part 2: Dive Leadership

  • Scuba Refreshers

  • Try Dives

  • Local Area Orientations

  • Dive leading certified divers on tour for pleasure

scuba divers on surface
scuba divers training

RAID DIVE INSTRUCTOR

 (R22 600.00)

Divers choose to become a RAID Dive Instructor for a variety of reasons. For some, gaining their RAID Instructor qualification is simply about being able to share their passion for diving with others. For many, it's a ticket to dive around the world while being paid to do so. For others, it is about achieving a goal to reach the pinnacle of their chosen activity. A RAID Instructor certification can open the door to an exciting new career or simply enhance your enjoyment of diving.

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What makes RAID the best choice for dive instructor training?
RAID has taken a different approach, and we believe a much better approach, to dive training than other diver training agencies. We believe, and the evidence strongly supports our position, that training standards need to be raised. We believe this begins by making far better instructors. So if you truly want to be the "best of the best" then RAID is the choice for you.

It's not a case of it being a much more difficult path or even a much longer path just in our opinion ensuring you are prepared to take the responsibility of training people to dive safely and be able to work with dive facilities that put the quality of dive training above everything else.

RAID does not believe in going back to the "good old days" when it could take months of training to become a diver but we do believe divers should spend more time perfecting skills in the pool. For example, we believe that something as simple as raising open water training time from just 80 minutes to 120 minutes will make a big difference to diver safety.

As a prospective instructor, you know how long you can spend getting a diver comfortable in those first few dives and how invaluable an extra 40 minutes in the water will be to consolidating skills. Especially when buoyancy control and other essential skills have already been perfect in the safety of a pool.

As stated it's not so much about difficulty of training (although there are additional pre requisites) but the focus and methodology of training. For example as a RAID instructor your buoyancy control will be exemplary, if it's not now we will train you to ensure it is. The Divers Alert Network (DAN) reports poor buoyancy control is a major and unacceptable risk to diver safety and that is why RAID has put so much focus on this skill and getting it right from the start.

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We do require significantly more in-water hours than most other diver training agencies. That is, we require 100 hours which is about twice the time of other agencies. We believe you need this level of experience to be truly confident as a dive instructor.

Pre-Requisites

To be a minimum of 18 years old.
• Have a diving medical not more than 6 months old signed-off on by a licensed medical practitioner.
• Completed and passed RAID Open Circuit Open Water, Advanced 35, Master Rescue and Instructor Academic Sections Quick Quiz and Exams.
• To be certified as a RAID Divemaster or equivalent certification from a recognised training agency and/or complete, to the satisfaction of the instructor, the minimum in water open circuit Divemaster skills. 
• To have a minimum of 100 logged underwater hours on Open Circuit.
• To submit a RAID Master Rescue certificate, and/or equivalent and/or complete, to the satisfaction of a RAID Instructor Trainer, the in-water skills of the RAID Master Rescue Course.
• Submit a current Rescue Breathing/CPR/BLS Training and Oxygen Provider Instructor certificates. (DAN/equivalent). 
• Documented proof of pre-requisite requirements needs to be presented for approval prior to any in-water training.
• Complete an Instructor Development practical programme with a RAID Instructor Trainer or RAID Instructor Examiner.

Course Content
scuba diver

CORE MODULE
Instructor Development Program (IDP) candidates must attend all the Instructor Trainer (IT) run academic PowerPoint presentations. These include:

IDP Orientation
Course Structure and Standards
Teaching RAID Courses
Student Administration
Developing Presentations - class, confined and open water
Risk Management
The Business of Diving and RAID
The RAID Instructor Evaluation
Teaching Divemasters
Complete the Risk Management Schedule (RMS) Workshop
Complete at least one dive site briefing using the RAID Dive Site Briefing Slate and integrate the RMS and Dive Evaluation Checklist
Complete the De-Briefing and RAID Counselling Workshop
Complete relevant stamina exercises
Complete the rescue workshop
Complete the online theory training
Complete the Open Circuit Try Dive workshop


SPECIFIC DISCIPLINE MODULE
Candidates must also:
1. Present and pass at least two academic teaching presentations
2. Present and pass at least three confined water presentations
3. Present and pass at least three open water presentations
• Note: Each in-water presentation will consist of 2 skills
4. Present and pass at least one practical application

For Recreational Open Circuit (OC)
• Pass the OC in-water pro-skill circuit evaluation
• Attend the Nitrox Speciality Instructor Workshop
• Attend the Deep Speciality Instructor Workshop

5. Review the relevant sections from Life Support Review
6. Review all prescribed knots

 

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