What Happens on the SSI ITC Instructor Training Course?

WHAT HAPPENS ON THE SSI ITC?

During the SSI Instructor Training Course (ITC), you will take part in several workshops to learn the art of teaching students and setting up your teaching scenarios for safety and accomplishing the skills.

Expect to attend presentations led by our SSI Instructor Trainer, Mark Slingo, alongside SSI Assistant Instructor Trainers. These sessions will cover essential topics such as teaching techniques, marketing, and professional growth within the scuba diving industry.

During the course, you’ll also participate in multiple pool sessions, where trainers will assess your ability to teach diving skills in realistic student scenarios. In addition, you’ll deliver short academic presentations on assigned topics to your Instructor Trainer, demonstrating your ability to communicate theory clearly and confidently.

Finally, you will spend a couple of days in the ocean, where trainers will assess how effectively you teach the open water segments of diver training courses.

There is also the option to complete the React Right First Aid and CPR Instructor program during the course which is necessary to be able to teach the Diver Stress & Rescue course when you are a certified instructor. Following on from the course we can look at getting you some Specialty Instructor ratings to move you up the SSI Instructional ladder towards Specialty Instructor and Divemaster Instructor.

ITC WORKSHOPS

The ITC workshops are build on the SSI Instructor Training Course Digital Learning and knowledge from previous courses. These workshops will develop your instructional skills through hands-on practice, staff guidance, and teamwork—preparing you for the practical elements of the ITC and your future dive career.

EXAM PRACTICE

Ok no one likes exams. But the SSI ITC is preparing you to complete the SSI Instructor Evaluation. As such prior to the ITC you have been brushing up on your dive theory and familiarising yourself with the SSI Instructor Manual and other SSI teaching Materials. During the ITC we will practice with a couple of exams to prepare you for the IE and ensure that your study has been effective.

DIVE SKILLS

Part of being a good instructor is to have good dive skills. You will have been practicing the skills circuit prior to the ITC and there will be a dive skills workshop and evaluation session to ensure that your skills are ready to teach. There will also be an assessment of your Diver Stress & Rescue skills too, in preparation for teaching rescue courses and for the rescue assessment during the SSI Instructor Evaluation.

KNOWLEDGE TEACHING PRESENTATIONS

Instructor candidates give knowledge teaching presentations during the ITC to demonstrate their ability to use SSI materials effectively in a teaching environment. You will use the SSI materials including lesson guides, manuals, and digital products such as the MySSI apps and Digital Learning to teach your fellow IE candidates, to answer questions assigned by your SSI Instructor Trainer from the Open Water, Advanced Open Water, Diver Stress & Rescue, Dive Guide and more.

CONFINED WATER PRESENTATIONS

To prepare you to be able to teach SSI dive courses in the pool and other confined water locations, you will give several confined water presentations during the SSI ITC. These will include practicing using your wetnotes to brief the skills, before giving demonstrations and correcting student diver problems, simulated by your fellow candidates. Teaching presentation skills are normally from the SSI Open Water, SSI Advanced Open Water and Diver Stress & Rescue courses.

OPEN WATER PRESENTATIONS

During the ITC, you will practice teaching two skills at the same time in open water. This is to simulate if you were teaching multiple courses at once. On our ocean training site, you will practice setting up the dive site before conducting the skills. This will focus on diver safety, supervision, and making sure your “students” meet the performance requirements. This will prepare you for the open water section of the IE of course and real-life when planning open water training for your dive students.

ACTING LIKE AN SSI PROFESSIONAL AND KNOWLEDGE OF THE DIVER DIAMOND

During the ITC, you must act as a role-model dive professional. Trainers will assess your appearance, behaviour, knowledge of the SSI system, and understanding of the SSI Diver Diamond. They will also evaluate your punctuality, equipment presentation, and diving skills.