I'm not sure what you mean by deco stops if you aren't trained as a tech diver. What method are you referring to?
I was trained with FIPSAS method in 1975, here in Italy. The course was 6 months long. It did include 1 months "naked", 1 month free diving with fin, mask and snorkel, 2 months using the ARO (CC rebreather in pure oxygen) and finally 2 months using OC with air.
The training included deco stops using US Navy tables, with the "recreational" modifications I explained, for making diving simpler and safe (but paying this with more deco time).
This was the first course. One year later I was allowed to make the second course, after at least 10 dives in between. And another year later, after further 20 dives, the third course, giving me a 3-stars CMAS certification, for recreational dives down to 50m, in air, with deco stop done on "back gas" and with a buddy.
Later on I stepped on the instructor pathway, and in the end, in 1984, I became a full 3-stars CMAS instructor. In 1985 I started woking as a professional instructor in diving resorts, did it for five years, ending my pro career at the end of 1989.
Here in Europe deco diving with back gas is considered the standard way of recreational diving, and planning a dive with deco stops is considered safer than planning an NDL dive, with the risk of going in deco without being prepared and equipped for it.
In my knowledge this is very similar to dive training in UK done by BSAC.
When I was working in the resorts of Club Vacanze (a leading Italian tour operator) most dives were planned with deco, and everything was properly planned for it, including an additional "tender" diver on the boat ready to intervene in case of accidents, carrying additional air to the divers.§
In or resort at Alimatha (Maldives) we did even have a two-volumes hyperbaric chamber for emergency recompression in case of DCS, and an hyperbaric doctor on duty.
I understand that "our" recreational approach is now considered "tech" in US and other countries, were the basic rec training was never done with our standards...