Encouraging instructors

[pauls1149]

I am trying to find out what branches do to 'encourage' instructors to take trainees on open water dives. I estimate it costs instructors the region of twenty pounds to travel to an inland site, get into the site and buy air. I DO NOT want to open a debate as to whether instructors should receive remuneration! I want to know what other branches do.

If you do not want to publicise what your branch does feel free to e-mail me direct at <a href="mailto:pauls1149@yahoo.co.uk">pauls1149@yahoo.co.uk</a>
Thank you.

[Richie771]

I have to be honest and say that we do - Nothing.

I dont personaly mind paying into Capernwray ?6.00 and my Air is free from my club.

Petrol is proparbly only ?10.00 both ways.

But on my last OD course my 4 students brought me a crate of Fosters - I was touched......

The costs for me are fairly minimal and even though teaching; It is still a days diving - which I would have been doing anyway.

IMHO Once you get past the first 2 lessons then they become dives with drills and can be enjoyed by you and the students.

[angiemac]

At our branch we have an unwritten rule that the trainees must get the instructor to the site. Some suggest that they should also pay the instructors entrance fee, but I prefer copious cups of tea being delivered through out the day.

[Mike Halligan]

I want to know what other branches do.


My Branch will re-imburse direct costs of site entry and air fills if I lodge a claim with the Treasurer (stating where, when, student name(s), which lessons). Some months I do, some months I don't bother - depends on amount of time and money I've invested.

SDC's are different, we lob all the costs into a single sum, divide it between the trainees and if there's a difference, it goes to/comes from Branch funds.

All necessary training materials can be provided by the Branch.

Getting to a training site is by agreement at the time, never more than sharing fuel cost.

Absolutely no question of reward, always erring toward shortfall in re-imbursement of intructors' actual spend.

The feelgood factor afforded by Branch recognition that instruction actually costs you both time and money is sufficient inducement. The constant repetition of basic skills, more than compensates for relatively tedious diving.

Then there's always the probability that something novel might arise, to be dealt with immediately, effecively and without communicating your alarm!

HTH

Mike

[TerryH]

As soon as the number of divers needing to be trained goes over
the 30 mark, the "put something back" ideal gets a little thin.

So we work on student pays expenses and a 2:1 ratio. So 2
students would pay half each towards an Instructors entry/air
fee.

If it turned out that the ratio was 1:1 then the club bails out
the student and pays the other half. All this only applies
to entry & air. It doesnt apply to accomodation, food or petrol.
Which is usually an individual car sharing thing anyway.

Two other schemes which we run are to encourage Instructors to
leave there cylinders in the club "pool". These are tested and
kept by the club and are free to be used by anybody. Of course
you can "borrow" your own cylinder anytime you like. This has
doubled the number of available cylinders and as many
Instructors tend to have twinsets as well, why not use that old
single 12x232 that would have sat in the garage?

Although we have 5 certified technicians, all club kit is
serviced professionally. My spare & even my main regs are
continually being lent out and will inevitably be attacked for
a pony rig etc. So the club pays for the servicing. Why?
Because if I lend a piece of kit that has not been serviced
correctly/recently, then is it the club or me that's liable?
Why take the chance? So all regs that are in the club "pool"
can be used by all members and will be serviced professionally.

This has the net result of helping the Instructors to a) Pay
for daily expenses, b) Go towards testing and servicing
costs and c) Increases the available club kit.

Win, win situtation?

NB: No money is ever charged for lending club kit. Always free.

HTH
TerryH

[Chris Ingham]

Last year our training officer asked every nationally qualified instructor to specify how many days open water training they were prepared to commit to. The idea was that it was ok for instructors to say "none" but if they said one or more then they would be expected to honour that commitment.

This has worked fairly well but we have still struggled to get instructors for some training days.

Severnside pays a token ?4 per dive towards the instructor costs of open water training for Ocean and Sports training (although many instructors do not, on principle, ask for the payment) and meets some instructor costs when running SDC's. Instructors who are instructing get free air fills if they do not allready have a club air card.

Over the past few years we have had the goal of completing all training by the end of May so that everyone can enjoy diving during the best part of the year.

[norman lomax]

As we're based in London, most of our training is done in Weymouth. Instructors get free transport in the club van, or arrange a lift with trainees, air/ nitrox paid by club, and ?10 a day expenses...this covers the cost of staying at the bunker in Portland. No help is given for Instuctor training but we have offered to pay expenses of any instructor wishing to qualify to teach disabled trainees.

We still end up relying on just a handful of instructors.

norman

DO Clidive

[fionab]

When I started to dive we used to go to Stoney as there was no where else (before Capernwray opened). I would drive and pay for my instructor to get in. Its probably a personal thing.

[finlo paish]

In the branch I run in KL there are never enough instructors to cover the trainees. Training new instructors overseas is very difficult in the BSAC system if you are far from support. Our nearest is Singapore, which is OK, but in Mausritius and Qatar where I have previously helped run branches it has been tough.

We tend to run 3 day liveaboard trips to give Ocean Divers their first open water dives. When normal liveaboards run, the cost is split equally per head. If the trip has a high percentage of trainees we reduce the cost to the instructors, and increase the cost to the trainees, (20% each way is typical) so the Instructors get a slight cost reduction.

For pool nights we have a social afterwards, and the Instructors I have tend to come along for the fun of teaching and the crack afterwards. Whilst there is no rule, the trainees often buy a beer ar two. I have found this normal in most branches I've been in.

Finlo