Is there an instructor crisis?

[boulderjohn]

The problem related to this that must be addressed is that for some shop owners, the quality of the instruction does not matter. I was told that in nearly so many words before I went independent.

The exact words used by the Director of Instruction at one point in our conversation was that "Instructors are a dime a dozen." He said every other week, a new instructor was coming by looking for work. Every one of them had what they were looking for--the credentials needed to certify divers who could buy gear and go on shop-sponsored trips. Nothing more was needed in instructor quality. Why pay more for better instructors? What does that get you?

I was diving in Key Largo many years ago while working on my IDC. I saw a young woman struggling to dive, nearly crawling in the sand with her integrated weight pockets bulging with lead. The look on her face was pure misery. I swore then that no student of mine would ever look like that. I would bet that she quit diving soon after that.

The idea that well-trained divers will enjoy diving and continue diving more than poorly trained divers was an alien concept to the shop where I worked, and possibly for good reason. All their shop-sponsored trips sold out, and they still do.

 

[SlugLife]

This alludes to an interesting issue...where is the money actually made in recreational scuba diving in the U.S.?

1.) Courses.
2.) Gear sales.
3.) Group dive trips.

You missed the big one:

4) Dive Agency Training Materials.

For OW and AOW courses, that's 40% to 50% the cost of the course. And these materials are soooooo boring! Compare your average SSI/PADI/etc video to one produced by SideMounting.com. Similar price ($200), but a lot more material, far more interesting and he manages to make it profitable despite working with a much smaller market.

 

[VikingDives]

You missed the big one:

4) Dive Agency Training Materials.

For OW and AOW courses, that's 40% to 50% the cost of the course. And these materials are soooooo boring! Compare your average SSI/PADI/etc video to one produced by SideMounting.com. Similar price ($200), but a lot more material, far more interesting and he manages to make it profitable despite working with a much smaller market.

PADI's course cost is outrageous, and it's one of the reasons I stopped teaching for them. They charge more for eLearning than they do for their books, which is wholly counterintuitive to me - they can't (or shouldn't) have greater overhead on eLearning.

Certification in general, around here, for PADI used to amount to about 25-30% of the course cost. SDI is much more reasonable and that was one of the reasons I crossed over.

I agree with your premise that the materials in general, are much duller than the sidemounting.com videos (although, I hate his voice and the speed of delivery), but I don't think you can compare them directly.

Agencies have to cover everything, in multiple formats. Sidemount is a niche, and a difficult one to master. One or a few people can make something to fill that niche much more efficiently and profitably than an agency ever could.

 

[boulderjohn]

People can be certified to dive at ae 10. OW and AOW materials must be written with 5th graders in mind. When college professors get their OW certification, they might find the materials easier than what they use in their classes.

 

[berndo]

PADI's course cost is outrageous, and it's one of the reasons I stopped teaching for them. They charge more for eLearning than they do for their books, which is wholly counterintuitive to me - they can't (or shouldn't) have greater overhead on eLearning.

That's the reason many shops in Europe and Egypt dumped PADI and switched to SSI. The manuals and fees used to be much cheaper. Students didn't have to buy them and could just borrow them for the duration of the class. This was also great for some shops as they didn't have to stock boxes and boxes of manuals in 5 different languages.
Some shops would keep the PADI sign outside and the PADI posters and stuff to get people in the door and sold an SSI class instead.

 

[tursiops]

Some shops would keep the PADI sign outside and the PADI posters and stuff to get people in the door and sold an SSI class instead.

Now there's a high-integrity marketing plan: lie, plus bait-and-switch. PADI is not happy with that kind of illegal infringement of their trademarks.

 

[johndiver999]

Maybe they just sell PADI dive jacket patches?

 

[SlugLife]

Some shops would keep the PADI sign outside and the PADI posters and stuff to get people in the door and sold an SSI class instead.

SSI e-learning prices last I checked match PADI. Perhaps they used to be cheaper, but in recent years SSI is just as expensive.

 

[tursiops]

Maybe they just sell PADI dive jacket patches?

Uhh, they can't buy (at least from PADI) them to resell them....

 

[berndo]

Now there's a high-integrity marketing plan: lie, plus bait-and-switch. PADI is not happy with that kind of illegal infringement of their trademarks.

The shops that kept the PADI stuff usually also had a couple of instructor on staff that had an active PADI status. Who cares what PADI is happy with, I doubt PADI gives a damn what the shops and instructors want. It's not illegal or a lie to tell people they can pay 40 or 50 bucks less with SSI because they don't have to buy the book but get the exact same class. Free market, buddy .

SSI e-learning prices last I checked match PADI. Perhaps they used to be cheaper, but in recent years SSI is just as expensive.

Only because it's the same price for you doesn't mean the shop pays the same or gets to keep the same cut. PADI has been losing market share for a reason.