WTF?
PADI make money?!?
... and there I was thinking they were a charity agency...
When... oh when.... will these money-grubbing diving agencies just 'get with the program' and start understanding that the modern diver expects everything for free....?!?
People should just switch to a REAL charity agency...... like GUE.... because they're
really,
really cheap..
Why does a diver training agency need to make money, other than to cover its costs? Let's remind ourselves what PADI stands for - the Professional Association of Diving Instructors. That is a bit of a misnomer; how many professional bodies exist as autocratic money making machines? Most trade associations and professional bodies exist for the purposes of looking after the interests of their members and maintaining standards; generally they are governed by representatives from the industry, who are elected the membership.
I'm not sure why you chose GUE as an example of a charity agency, as according to your signature, you hold an instructor rating for the oldest diver training agency in the world, which still successfully exists as a not-for-profit organisation. I'm not clued up about the constitution of GUE, but I expect the charity bit covers the part of the organisation that creates the syllabi and monitors standards, and the instructors charge their fees to the students. A quick Google search reveals I can do Fundies in the UK for £500, which includes four days of tuition. AOW at my local PADI school costs £260 for two days tuition, so that does not strike me as particularly expensive.
I learned to dive with the local PADI school, and dived with their club after qualifying. After getting the Rescue Diver card, they tried to push me down the DM route, which I resisted. Eventually I had to spell it out and tell them I have no interest in doing so whatsoever. I have no intention of using my own money to pay for a qualification that allows me to work for them for a pittance.
I recently joined BSAC, after years of diving, and it is the best thing I have ever done. I pay £56 a year to BSAC, which gives me membership, which includes a monthly magazine, third party liability insurance cover, and covers their operating costs. As a member, I am able to vote for club officials. In addition, I pay a monthly direct debit payment of just under £15, so around £230 a year.
BSAC instructors work for free in a club environment (but you can pay for courses in their 'Technical Centres'). The only cost a club member pays is expenses and learning materials. Since joining in April this year, I have done a powerboat handling course, oxygen administrator course, Dive Leader, and in a couple of weeks, I'll be doing chart-work and position fixing. On average, the materials cost £30-£40 and are comparable with PADI books. The powerboat course was run over two days from the instructor's holiday home in Wales, where he let us stay. £40 for a two day residential course is not to be sniffed at! By the new year, I'll have paid out less than £300 for those courses; for comparison, the PADI school I learned to dive with charges £595 for the Divemaster course alone.
In addition to this, our members enjoy collective ownership of two RHIBs, a minibus, compressor and mixed gas blending equipment, all housed in a purpose built clubhouse, complete with lecture room, bar, and large function room that regularly hosts guest speakers.
I didn't join BSAC for penny-pinching reasons, and none of it is really free anyway. Yes, the instructors work for free, but the other members all chip in. There are the lads in the boat house looking after the compressors, boats and training kit, there is the lady who runs the bar, there is a club member who joined shortly before me doing excellent work promoting the club, and I have recently been doing the electrical work for the new kitchen in the club-house. I plan on training as an instructor next year, so I''l be putting even more into the club.
Another great thing about BSAC is it is easier to get involved in projects. Many of our members are involved with Seasearch, which is a marine life survey and mapping project. Next year, we are taking the boats to Loch Striven in Scotland to search for a WWII bouncing bomb prototype, with the intention of raising it and donating it to a museum.
At the local PADI school, the staff work for peanuts. Instructors are self-employed, and have to pay their own membership fees, as well as the cost of an annual Health and Safety Executive medical every year, which is a legal requirement for paid instructors. Most of them put in many more hours than what they are actually paid for, and as a consequence, they are not being paid the legal minimum wage. DMs do not get paid a penny, and pay their own travel expenses and entry fees at the training site. The instructors all have day jobs, which include university lecturers, IT professionals and company directors. None of them need the cash and clearly teach as a hobby; it seems odd that people in the UK do this, when they could volunteer in a BSAC branch and take advantage of the club facilities.
The great thing about organisations like BSAC is we are seen as a community, rather than customers. We want more people to dive with us, and we want the training that makes people better divers to be accessible to everybody. Overcharging on admin fees, and trying to sell bulls**t speciality courses and non-qualifications like MSD will not help achieve this.
I have nothing against diving instructors making money. There is a market for full time instructors in resorts, and for specialist areas of diving. For example, I chose to go to Mark Powell for my MOD 2 CCR. Mark Powell is a very highly regarded UK-based instructor, and will be known to many worldwide as the author of 'Deco for Divers'. Mark has made a successful career from diving, and has done so because he is at the top of his game. For technical diving, which carries greater risks, I like many others, am prepared to pay for a professional, as part-time or amateur divers do not have as much time to dedicate to reaching the same standard.
