largest PADI operations?

[steadynswangin]

In the second quarter 2011 Undersea_Journal PADI recognized 58 individuals with Platinum status.
What is required for that status?
100 or more professional certifications in the previous year, 30 of those had to be at either the divemaster, assitant instructor or open water instructor level, and a 70 percent or higher professional-level continuing education ratio.

if someone's looking to do an IDC or other professional training, then perhaps one would look for platinum CDs, or even have the curiosity to know who they are... however, the bulk of PADI certifications lies in the recreational arena, and im sure OW or AOW divers don't know what platinum CD is, nor do they bother to know, which probably explains why the big dive centers who cater mostly to travelers passing by, don't have platinum CDs.

 

[Thalassamania]

Sport Chalet is the largest certifier of divers in the world and PADI's biggest customer. I would have guessed something like ProDive would have been the largest CDC once upon a time, most people dont have very large IDC/ITC anymore. I'm always surprised and delighted when I see a class of maybe 12.

Times have changed, if I didn't have 12 candidates I would not run. I don't see the quality in these dinky onesie/twosie on demand programs with almost no staff.

 

[mitsuguy]

Utila Dive Center has got to be up there... I think they were averaging 3000-4000 certs a year, and probably 150 or so instructors a year... just going by some numbers I heard tossed around when I did my IDC there...

 

[RJP]

Utila Dive Center has got to be up there... I think they were averaging 3000-4000 certs a year,

That's 60-75 certs a week. Never been there, but that's hard to imagine.

 

[DevonDiver]

That's 60-75 certs a week. Never been there, but that's hard to imagine.

It's quite imaginable. High-season in Thailand, the larger 'sausage factories' could easily muddle through 10x OW classes of 8 students.

Makes you shudder doesn't it?

 

[mitsuguy]

That's 60-75 certs a week. Never been there, but that's hard to imagine.

Well, I'll throw some of the numbers I recall from being there... I was there for 3 months doing my IDC and interning afterwards... They have a quality organization. Sure, every class is done in relatively quick fashion, 4 days for OW, but, for the time frame, it is good stuff... In Utila, there are/were 11 dive shops in a 1 mile section of the harbor that makes up the entire town... Every single day, there would be backpackers getting off the ferry from the mainland twice - once in the morning, once in the afternoon. With offers of free lodging when signing up for OW class, there was never a shortage of students for any of the good shops... They would get 4 or 5 days free with OW, and then could add more free days when signing up for AOW and more... Of the three months my wife and I were there, I can only remember a handful of days that a new OW class wasn't starting, and minimum class size was generally 5, but a few started with as little as 3... Most classes were 8-10, and there was definitely staff to support it. The rule was 1-4 students, 1 instructor, then add an assistant instructor for every 3 students past that. On top of instructors and AI's, there was never a shortage of divemasters and divemasters in training to help out. (there was something like 25 divemasters in training while we were there) Between the wife and I, in two months (the first month was vacation, fun and DM'ing), we obtained a total of about 24 certifications. I then went on to issue 20 student certs and she issued 12. The instructor course that started the month we got there had 12 students, ours had 6, and the one that started after ours was like 14 I think... They gave such a good deal on the specialty certs after the IDC that most people went that route, and then the internship was included...