PADI Assistant Instructor (AI)

PADI Assistant Instructor (AI)

Shape future divers

To become a PADI Assistant Instructor (AI), you’ll follow a structured professional path within the PADI system of diver education.

Children and an instructor in a swimming pool, practicing scuba diving with masks and snorkels.
Two scuba divers swimming underwater near a coral reef, with sunlight filtering through the water from above.
Scuba diver swimming over coral reef with various colorful corals and marine life.

  • Prerequisites:

    Before starting the course, you must:

    •Be a PADI Divemaster (or hold a leadership-level certification with another training agency).

    • Be at least 18 years old.

    • Have logged at least 60 dives (you’ll need 100 to attend the Instructor Examination).

    • Have been a certified diver for at least 6 months.

    • Hold a current Emergency First Response (EFR) Primary & Secondary Care certification (or equivalent) within the past 24 months.

    • Be medically evaluated and cleared by a physician within the past 12 months.

  • Course Requirements:


    • The Assistant Instructor course is the first portion of the PADI Instructor Development Course (IDC).

    It is usually taught by a PADI Course Director at a PADI 5 Star IDC Center.

    You’ll learn to:

    • Give confined water skill presentations.

    • Teach certain PADI courses and programs independently, like Peak Performance Buoyancy or Project AWARE Specialty.

    • Assist an Instructor in Open Water Diver courses.

    • Evaluate and give presentations on dive theory topics.

    • Refine demonstration-quality diving skills.

    Duration

    • Typically 4–5 days (varies by dive center and schedule).

    • Can be combined with the Open Water Scuba Instructor (OWSI) program to complete the full IDC.

    After Certification

    As a PADI Assistant Instructor, you can independently conduct:

    • Peak Performance Buoyancy Specialty

    • Project AWARE Specialty

    • Coral Reef Conservation Specialty

    • Discover Scuba Diving (DSD) program in confined water (under instructor indirect supervision)

    • Seal Team AquaMissions

    • Assist a PADI Instructor in teaching most other courses.

    • Start working toward becoming a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor by completing the OWSI portion of the IDC and attending the Instructor Examination (IE).

  • Cost:

    Contact us at info@fluvannadivecenter.com for more information.

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