Specialty Certifications Based On Experience

[tursiops]

most agencies have a provision for an "administrative upgrade". Most shops/instructors don't like doing these as they don't get to charge you for a class. You could try contacting the customer service number for your agency and asking.

I've never heard of this except for SDI./TDI and instructor-level certifications. Never for diver-level certifications.

 

[sheeper]

I'm not aware of any agency that will offer a certification based on experience - the standards for certification are there for a number of reasons - yes, of course, there is the financial incentive for the dive centre and instructor - but also the legal implications of certifying a diver.

Actually, agencies will provide administrative upgrades for "equivalent" training and experience. For example, some of my military based dive training/certs were accepted by my agency for civilian certs. Agencies do this all the time...dive shops...not so much. You have to show training and a rating. It's similar to an instructor crossover. I don't need to take 20 specialities from my second agency....they accept my initial certs and cross them over.

 

[Crowley]

I know about administrative upgrades for prior certifications + experience - for example: qualification to participate in a PADI rescue diver course would be proof of certification beyond entry level, proof of experience in deep diving and navigation experience plus at least 20 logged dives - all assuming the diver is not certified under the PADI banner. Instructor ratings are slightly different - to qualify as an instructor in some specialty courses you just need to be an instructor and have experience in - for example - deep diving; so in that regard, yes, administrative upgrades for crossover certifications are possible. It's also possible to qualify as an instructor in some fields without every having undertaken the original specialty that a non-professional diver would have to take.

The OP was asking if it's possible to be certified with a new rating based on experience and training which has not yet resulted in a certification - and that is what I don't think is possible under any agency. If they already possessed a certification then that might be acceptable for crossover, but certainly recreational agencies won't issue a certification unless the course requirements have been met - and that means passing the exam and the skills demonstrations as appropriate. Documented proof of training might help, along with the dives, but the person seeking the rating would still need to demonstrate that they can meet the standards of the program.

It's a bit of a weird one - I've been through it myself having had to take super experienced divers through an AOW program just because dive centres started making the certification (not the experience) mandatory for participation in some dives. These guys learned to dive in the 60s - in the military - and had 30 years more experience than I did - and there I was, teaching AOW, going through the motions, because that's the legal requirement. It was kinda funny, but they took it well (and took the mickey out of me for two whole days!)

Cheers

C.