As for the topic... for a long time there were no certifications. People learned with others or by themselves. It was a smaller group, people knew each other better, it took more effort and maybe that filtered the kind of people going into diving. Still, many died. And the lessons from those deaths can now be learned in dive courses.
I can't say what went on in the 50's as I was too young. There were Clubs however and Councils/Associations made-up of Clubs which established training standards. Back then the training you received was dependent upon the reputation of the instructor who signed a card to say that you were trained. Instructors had no numbers or certification agencies, but they were known within several hundred miles where you were certified.
I was certified in 1965. I had to wait 18 months until I was old enough to become certified with NAUI. I was a member of the Underwater Club of Canada when I started; which had 350 Divers, 12 Instructors (3 of which were certified). I didn't know anyone who was involved in a diving accident (or hear of one) until completing my Navy diver training 6 years later. I don't know what statistics you've heard, but diver accidents were few and far between back then. They did happen however.
Does it make sense to go over the same mistakes again? No. Of course there's information available in books or the internet, but is that really enough? Where is the practice?
No but in my opinion diver training today is often insufficient for the diving conditions present. Minimal in-water skill/ physical fitness requirement, inability to properly plan a dive, often no u/w rescue ability and little or no swimming/in-water ability. Something that was totally unheard of 40 years ago... I agree with you; with today's training, 'Where is the practice?'
I think some certifications are really worth it. I see that if someone would have a good mentor, they could learn the same things, but not have anything to show as proof of their knowledge and proficiency. Yes, that can suck... But really how do you expect others to just trust your word? Tough when dealing with strangers, impossible when dealing with some legislation, extremely difficult when living in a society so prone to litigation.
As my signature states "Competence is more important than a C-Card. A C-Card is no guarantee of competence." That goes for an Instructor card as well. So how do you tell competence? I suspect that like everyone, there is an element of trust. One mitigating factor is money. Personally I would trust a certified Instructor volunteering his services to a Club over a Shop Instructor who is paid (and controlled to some degree by the employer). I've been both (past owner of an LDS) and in most circumstances the volunteer instructor has much more leeway as to how comprehensive the course becomes. I understand however, that the majority just want the card, or want the illusion that they know what they're doing as quickly and easily as possible.
But I do agree with what's been said, organizations and schools make money selling courses, the more courses there are to sell, the more money they get. And it pisses me off when courses created by some organization become a standard. Comes to mind the dry suit course. I have two dry suits and been diving dry for many years. Don't have a specialty course. A shop wouldn't rent me a suit once.
I agree. If you put the keys in the hands of for-profits it is not surprising that they will turn it into a money machine. If they could get away with it, they would make a card to 30FSW and add a specialty for every 10 FSW thereafter. If everyone bought into it, everyone would be showing their 70 FSW and 80 FSW cards with pride (actually thinking that they actually learned something in their last four courses).
So much of the training today is a scam. In your initial program you are either prepared to plan a dive, project your gas management and decompression plan, assess the dive site, do the dive and look after your Buddy with reasonable certainty (regardless if he needs assistance above or below the water) or you can't. These are required for me to certify a diver. I know that's not considered progressive today, but my training philosophy isn't shared by every diver certification agency. I believe something has been lost.
I understand the economics of having someone come back 3 or 4 times to get this amount of training, but am fearful of those divers that don't do it. I'm sure each of us has seen them at various dive sites. It's a crime in my view that this has been allowed. Too many divers I've spoken to have quit diving because they didn't feel confident. In other words, they were fearful of diving because they didn't feel safe. What a great thing from a business point-of-view, as it's much easier to get them back for training. The sad thing is that before they are certified, they should be able to dive without supervision, just unbelievable...
