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Has anyone got any top tips for encouraging instructors to help with club training and improve their qualifications? I, and other clubs in my area, are having problems getting instructors. As a result, a couple of instructors get lumbered with all the work. As you can imagine they soon get ****ed off with this as they spend most of the year with trainees and not diving for fun.
We have recently got a number of Sports Divers and I am pushing them towards the IFC, but it will be a while before any will be able to do OWI training.
Any ideas?
Guy
Tony Dwyer
10-09-2003, 17:23
Has anyone got any top tips for encouraging instructors to help with club training and improve their qualifications? I, and other clubs in my area, are having problems getting instructors. As a result, a couple of instructors get lumbered with all the work. As you can imagine they soon get ****ed off with this as they spend most of the year with trainees and not diving for fun.
We have recently got a number of Sports Divers and I am pushing them towards the IFC, but it will be a while before any will be able to do OWI training.
Any ideas?
Guy
Firstly and probably fairly importantly, not everyone will make a good instructor. There is little point in pushing those that do not possess the appropriate people skills, into instructing.
Enthusiasm is important. If the current instructors are seen to be gaining enjoyment from training others, it can be quite infectious.
If it is apparent that the current instructors percieve teaching to be a chore and lack enthusiasm, then it is fairly obvious that potential new instructors will be detered.
At our club we try to apprentice new instructor candidates with existing instructors. In order to get an idea what is actually going on. They are involved in all aspects of the training activity and even assist the instructors with some. They begin to understand that there is more to instructing than just demonstrating skills and giving lectures.
Firstly and probably fairly importantly, not everyone will make a good instructor. There is little point in pushing those that do not possess the appropriate people skills, into instructing.
Disagree. Remember that try-dive? Half the people in the pool
said yes, the other half said never again. Until you do it you
just dont know.
So why not make the IFC the next grade after Sport Diver.
Two day attendance only and you end up with shedloads of
Assistants.
Some will say not for them, but enough will have been bitten
to go to the next stage.
Using this method out of about 20 Sport divers in the club
15 are ADI's (we also have several DL/ADI's). The rest will be
doing there IFC this autumn.
It's great when we do try-dives etc. as almost everybody is
a certified assitant.
TerryH
lectures.
Thank you for your comments.
Agree that folk can't be forced in to training, but I believe that many will enjoy it if they give it a try and there is enough support. I think the key is getting enough instructors so that the 'burden' is spread.
On the IFC, and othercourses, front. In our area courses get cancelled because there is not enough interest. When there is only one or two per year close by, this is a major blow to instructor training progression. There is no way that our club alone can provide enough candidates to make courses viable. It is hard enough getting my club through, let alone getting other clubs interested.
It is a catch 22 situation. We don't want to take on lots of trainees because we have so few active intructors. However, we need them so that we can have more intructors in future years.
Guy
On the IFC, and othercourses, front. In our area courses get cancelled because there is not enough interest. When there is only one or two per year close by, this is a major blow to instructor training progression. There is no way that our club alone can provide enough candidates to make courses viable. It is hard enough getting my club through, let alone getting other clubs interested.
No, you need to make it happen. If the course is cancelled
travel. Go to another area.
Email other clubs and get a list of divers who want to do an
IFC. Add those to your own and contact your coach.
If he doesnt do it then contact your local pro-school and do it
profesionally. We negotiate a deal with Andark and have used
them on IFC, CIE, OWIC & AIE (theory). To dear? Then subsidise
the difference between the pro-fee and BSAC fee.
You need to sell the package. Push hard. get it done.
Like I say, we have done this now for about 4 years and it has
worked.
TerryH
David Leon
11-09-2003, 17:26
Training to become an instructor can be an expensive business, which may stop some people who are uncertain from 'giving it a go'. I found the courses to be an excellent all round refresher for my diving skills, and love being able to train others.
I know some clubs, who have been able to demonstrate the demand for ocean diver courses but not the instructors to run them, have been successful in obtaining lottery funding under 'Awards for All' to put people through the Instructor training. May help break the catch 22 cycle.
Tony Dwyer
12-09-2003, 00:03
I don't actually disagree with you much.
We have 4 new Dive Leaders doing the IFC in a couple of weeks.
I stand by my previous point, in that not everyone is instructor material. There are many Sports Divers and Dive Leaders out there, that I would not let anywhere near a trainee. Thankfully I don't think we have any like that in Basildon 0356.
Enthusiasm and good example seems to work for us at our club.
:=
:=Firstly and probably fairly importantly, not everyone will make a good instructor. There is little point in pushing those that do not possess the appropriate people skills, into instructing.
:=
Disagree. Remember that try-dive? Half the people in the pool
said yes, the other half said never again. Until you do it you
just dont know.
So why not make the IFC the next grade after Sport Diver.
Two day attendance only and you end up with shedloads of
Assistants.
I think that it is good the way that BSAC keeps instructor grades totally segregated from diver grades. There are a lot of people with no desire to do instruction and to force it in order to progress to the next BSAC grade would, I believe, discourage these from progressing their diving grades through BSAC
Dave
I think that it is good the way that BSAC keeps instructor grades totally segregated from diver grades. There are a lot of people with no desire to do instruction and to force it in order to progress to the next BSAC grade would, I believe, discourage these from progressing their diving grades through BSAC
Dave
Agreed that it's good to be seperate, but it doesnt hurt to
show people what they might be missing.
As for discoraging DL's. This year we signed up 9 Dive
Leaders. All are also ACI/ADI and one only joined the club less
than two years ago. He is just under the 100 dive mark & most
have been quality UK ones. So I would have tyo disagree there.
I think the bottom line here is that as per try-dives, until
you do it, you wont know. Mind you taking the course doesnt
mean you get to play with students. Takes a lot more work
before we get to that stage.
TerryH
Training to become an instructor can be an expensive business, which may stop some people who are uncertain from 'giving it a go'. I found the courses to be an excellent all round refresher for my diving skills, and love being able to train others.
I know some clubs, who have been able to demonstrate the demand for ocean diver courses but not the instructors to run them, have been successful in obtaining lottery funding under 'Awards for All' to put people through the Instructor training. May help break the catch 22 cycle.
My club has a policy of subsidising intructor training by 50%. This is not a great drain on club finances as we have so few going through the courses. Obviously I want that to change. Hopefully, the increase in ability to take on more trainees would fund the increase in instructor course take up.
Any ideas on encouraging those already with instructor qualifications to help with training? If you looked at a portfolio of instructor numbers in our club. It looks good, but less than a hadful get involved in our training. If these people got involved, it would not be such a chore for those that are involved.
Guy
My club has a policy of subsidising intructor training by 50%. This is not a great drain on club finances as we have so few going through the courses. Obviously I want that to change. Hopefully, the increase in ability to take on more trainees would fund the increase in instructor course take up.
Any ideas on encouraging those already with instructor qualifications to help with training? If you looked at a portfolio of instructor numbers in our club. It looks good, but less than a hadful get involved in our training. If these people got involved, it would not be such a chore for those that are involved.
We are a Uni club so this may not fit in with your timescale,
but if your a bit savvy it could work.
From October to Easter we are a Training Club. All efforts
go towards getting our newbies upto Sport Diver. Any boats or
trips booked will be compromised if Fred Bloggs needs to do
a 20m dive etc.
From Easter to October we are a Dive club. NO trips will be
compromised if Jenny needs to do a rescue or Fred needs 20m.
A lot of the problems stem from Instructors having to train
all year round cutting into there dive time. Maybe they want to
help, but if they do it's never ending.
So have a cuttoff point and a finite time to train. At least
then they know that summer is for diving.
HTH
TerryH
pete gosnell
18-09-2003, 18:04
Get clubs or students to pay for our expenses. 3 dives, 2 fills and 36 miles I pay to teach my friends / club members. is it any wonder why people are flocking to be PADI instructors. I'm paying to teach people????? Should'nt it be the other way round?
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