BSAC is one of the oldest (since 1953) and most respected scuba certifying agencies in the world. They are one of the few who use the club approach to training. Their certification is universally recognized, easily carrying as much weight as PADI or any other.
Technically, they are a 'club', not a training agency. I concur that their qualifications are universally recognized and often attributed to a high quality of diving instruction.
One thing that I found, when diving in the UK, was that the philosophies, ethos and mentalities of individual branches could vary significantly. Likewise, the quality of training and approach was variable.
There are very few major differences in entry-level diving courses, regardless of agency. However, what tends to matter more is the attitude of the instructor, rather than the certifying agency. BSAC is non-profit and most of the instructors are volunteers (certainly in branches, rather than schools).... so their attitude tends to be more driven towards quality rather than efficiency, speed or profitability.
When you teach someone to dive - with the intention of diving with that person subsequently after the course, then you are highly motivated to create a safe, competent diver. That motivation may not exist in instructors who wave goodbye to a customer at the end of a course, knowing that they'll probably never see them again...
The BSAC club system does lend itself to an 'unhurried' diving syllabus. That's always a good thing - and certainly a far cry from the 2-4 day intensive 'holiday courses' that form the bulk of certifications offered by the 'major' agencies.
I've seen some very excellent BSAC divers.... and also a few very shoddy ones. Let's not convince ourselves that anyone trained outside of the 'McDiver' sphere will walk on water. At the end of the day, the personal attitude and mindset of the diver is the single most important factor that determines their progression over time.
However, anyone that can enjoy cold-water inland diving, is willing to invest the effort into joining and participating diving club... is probably going to fall into the demographic of 'committed/serious' divers. That is not true of the 'holiday crowd', where the vast majority of certified divers are 'occasional' at best... and make little commitment to the hobby beyond the cost of a 4-dive certification course.
Comparing committed/regular divers with occasional holiday dilettantes is like comparing apples with oranges. Neither is it truthfully a comparison of agency standards - it merely shows that one training body tends to attract a different demographic than the other/s.
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At the risk of (further) stirring the hornet's nest. . . has BSAC become more receptive to the long-hose Hogarthian regulator setup?
I'm not aware of any changes in policy since the '
Clarification statement on Alternative Supply training' was released in October 2010. Which followed the mail shot to BSAC Instructors titled '
“Hogarthian rigging” and “Primary take” when teaching “out of gas response” on BSAC courses' in Dec 2009.
