PADI "platinum" course director?

[cashew]

I have been evaluating some local dive shops around me for taking continuing education classes, and came across one shop that advertised its "platinum" course director. I couldn't find any information about what qualifications earn someone a "platinum" rating - can anyone shed more information? Is it just a status given once someone has certified X number of students? Or is there some other qualification that would make training under a "platinum" course director's supervision better than a non-platinum?

 

[Wookie]

PADI is a lot about awards that mean little to anyone but PADI. They give awards for the most students taught, which is dubious at best, there is no award for the BEST students taught, because that would be a hard metric to count, and PADI is all about making it easy.

I would consider this a marketing tool at best, and think that it really doesn't count much towards whether or not a "platinum" course director will make a better course director than a standard ol' everyday course director, which is a hard enough standard to maintain. It's interesting that I could find nothing online about why there are only 58 of the Platinum kind of course director worlswide, and why it should be important to anyone else but PADI. Not much of a marketing tool....

 

[Pedro Burrito]

From PADI's "the Undersea Journal"

Platinum Course Directors issued a minimum of 100 professional-level certifications in 2014, at least 30 of which were at the Open Water or IDC Staff Instructor level, and an overall 70 percent or higher professional-level continuing education ratio.
Gold Course Directors issued a minimum of 50 and up to 99 professional-level certifications in 2014, at least 20 of which were at the Open Water or IDC Staff Instructor level, and an overall 60 percent or higher professional-level continuing education ratio.
Silver Course Directors issued a minimum of 20 and up to 49 professional-level certifications in 2014, at least 10 of which were at the Open Water or IDC Staff Instructor level, and an overall 50 percent or higher professional-level continuing education ratio.

 

[Wookie]

From PADI's "the Undersea Journal"

Platinum Course Directors issued a minimum of 100 professional-level certifications in 2014, at least 30 of which were at the Open Water or IDC Staff Instructor level, and an overall 70 percent or higher professional-level continuing education ratio.
Gold Course Directors issued a minimum of 50 and up to 99 professional-level certifications in 2014, at least 20 of which were at the Open Water or IDC Staff Instructor level, and an overall 60 percent or higher professional-level continuing education ratio.
Silver Course Directors issued a minimum of 20 and up to 49 professional-level certifications in 2014, at least 10 of which were at the Open Water or IDC Staff Instructor level, and an overall 50 percent or higher professional-level continuing education ratio.

As I suspected. If the only description is found in the Undersea Journal, it is not even a marketing tool, it only means something to other PADI professionals. A way for the PADI folks to pat themselves on the back for what a wonderful job they are doing.

 

[RJP]

I wonder if the quantity indicator of being a platinum course director is almost an inverse indicator of quality. Sure, at some point you want a CD who trains more than two people a year... but do you want someone who pumps out two new instructors a week on average? And at a 70% professional con-ed ratio?

Logistically, of course, the only way to do that is to be an instructor mill.

 

[KevinNM]

If their instructor students are passing the IE at a high rate than it would seem that whatever they are milling out knows and can do what PADI wants them to know and do.

 

[TMHeimer]

A few years ago (2010 I think) there were 63 worldwide. I know (knew?--not sure if once you get it you keep it or if it's a yearly thing) one of them. She has certified 4 or 5,000 divers I think, and a whole whack of Instructors. She co-owns an LDS that also got the "best PADI" shop in NA or all of PADI Americas (?).

 

[Bruno Genovese]

I find it strange that they use a straight count of students that pass their IDC as a success measure for the rating. It seems obvious that a combination of straight count and succees rate (number of students achieving divided by number of students attempting) would be a better measure.

Given that a truly valid rating does not exist, what is the best way to choose a place to take the IDC?

I plan to take it in about a year, and my goal is to become a good instuctor, not to just get the card. So far I have found no clear and reliable way to choose where to do it.

 

[Diving Dubai]

I plan to take it in about a year, and my goal is to become a good instuctor, not to just get the card. So far I have found no clear and reliable way to choose where to do it.

You can do some research and ask questions to assist you in your decision.

The biggest thing which seperates Course Directors, is how they insist you carry out your skills. If they're content to still allow you on your knees then not for you perhaps. But as a DM? You should already be aware of how to carry out skills to demonstration quality whilst being neutral.

As for being a good instructor. Only you can decide and make that choice. The IDC give you all the information and tells you what the standards are, what sets instructors apart in one sense is those who adhere to standards and those who let them slip. It's a bit like when you pass your driving test, your given all the skills and standards which you need to perform. Some people let them slip.

When you take IDC and see what should be taught, quite a few people look back and realise their course might have missed a few things.

As for Platinum CD, well if they have enough candidates to be able to run an IDC + IE every month why not. It's just a course after all and only occupys 10-12 days - as a candidate I can assure you it feels a whole lot longer!

 

[yle]

To get the platinum rating a CD has to issue 100 professional certs in a year, and it is a yearly thing. My CD was platinum for many consecutive years; he and his fellow CD at the shop (who also regularly was platinum) ran an IDC once a month with around 12 students. They also strongly encouraged the IDC students to stick around for several more days after the IE to get their MSDT. And they usually had one or two doing IDC Staff during each IDC.

To his credit, he was very good at turning out well trained instructors. I've heard his students all pass the IE (everyone in our IDC did); essentially anything less was just not acceptable.

And I've heard that PADI counts the MSDT class as six professional certs for the CD: one for each specialty and one more for the MSDT rating. Which is why there's the stipulation that at least 30 of the 100 certs must be for OWSI or IDC Staff. A CD can rack up almost 50 professional certs from one MSDT class with 8 students.

So to answer cashew's question: any shop that runs a regular IDC with a fair number of students in each will tend to have a platinum CD. Certainly any shop with a monthly IDC will get their CD to the platinum level. And the debate over quality vs quantity will rage on.

I suspect cashew is interested in recreational continuing education. And for that, a "platinum CD" at the shop is pretty close to irrelevant.