What Is Not Part of a Divemaster Course
What Is Not Part of a Divemaster Course — And Why It Matters
 |
| What Is Not Part of a Divemaster Course |
The divemaster course is often described as the first professional step in scuba diving. It marks the transition from recreational diver to dive professional: someone who can supervise certified divers, assist instructors, and act as a role model underwater.
But if you look closely at how divemaster internships and courses are offered around the world, you’ll notice something important: not everything that is presented as a “requirement” is actually part of the official training standards.
In fact, many tasks that divemaster candidates are asked to do are not required by any training organization at all. They exist because they save dive shops money, reduce staffing costs, or fill operational gaps.
Understanding this difference is essential — for students, for dive professionals, and for the future of the dive industry.
The Official Goal of a Divemaster Course
A divemaster course has a clear purpose: to train divers to become leaders in the water and role models in safety, professionalism, and environmental awareness.
Core training areas typically include:
Supervising certified divers
Assisting instructors during courses
Leading dives in a safe and responsible manner
Understanding dive theory at a professional level
Demonstrating strong dive skills and buoyancy control
Learning risk management and problem prevention
Acting as an ambassador for the underwater world
These are professional competencies. They are about knowledge, leadership, and responsibility — not manual labor.
The standards focus on becoming a confident dive leader, not becoming unpaid operational staff.
The Myth of “Intern Responsibilities”
Across the dive industry, many divemaster internships include tasks that are presented as part of “learning the business.”
You may hear phrases like:
“You need to understand how a dive shop runs.”
“Everyone starts at the bottom.”
“This builds discipline.”
“This is part of being a professional.”
But when you compare these statements with actual training requirements, something becomes clear.
There is no requirement in any major divemaster curriculum stating that candidates must:
Clean toilets
Work night shifts
Carry tanks all day as primary labor
Paint the dive shop
Clean the pool daily as staff duty
Work seven days a week from morning to evening
These activities may exist in dive operations, but they are not certification requirements.
They are operational tasks.
And there is a difference.
Learning vs. Labor
A divemaster candidate should absolutely learn how a dive center operates. Understanding logistics, preparation, and teamwork is part of professional development.
However, learning and replacing staff are two completely different things.
Learning means:
Observing equipment logistics
Assisting under supervision
Participating in briefings and planning
Supporting real courses as part of training
Labor means:
Being scheduled like staff
Covering shifts instead of employees
Performing repetitive physical tasks unrelated to training
Being used as operational workforce
When interns become essential to daily operations, the line between training and labor disappears.
And that’s where problems begin.
Paying for Training vs. Working for Certification
There are two main models in the industry:
1) Paid Divemaster Course
The candidate pays for professional training and receives structured education.
This creates accountability.
If you pay for a course:
You can expect professional instruction
You can question the schedule
You can ask for adjustments
You can complain if the quality is poor
Because it is your course.
2) Free or “Work-Based” Internship
The candidate “works” in exchange for certification.
This removes accountability.
Suddenly:
Tasks increase
Training decreases
Work hours expand
Learning becomes secondary
The internship shifts from education to cost-saving.
And the certification becomes a by-product of labor.
The Legal Reality — Especially in Indonesia
In many countries, including Indonesia, immigration laws are strict.
Foreigners are not allowed to work without permits.
Even certified divemasters require proper documentation to work legally.
So what does that mean for divemaster interns?
They are:
Not yet professionals
Not legally allowed to work
Not employees
Yet in some places they are treated like staff.
This creates legal grey areas and raises ethical concerns — especially when foreign interns replace local workers who are fully capable and willing to do those jobs.
The Impact on Local Communities
One of the most overlooked aspects of the divemaster internship model is its impact on local employment.
When unpaid or low-paid foreign interns perform operational tasks:
Local jobs disappear
Salary expectations drop
Career pathways for local divers shrink
The community loses long-term stability
Dive shops sometimes claim:
“It’s hard to find people willing to work.”
But often the reality is:
It’s hard to find people willing to work for the offered salary.
Shops that invest in local staff usually see the opposite:
Long-term employees
Stronger community relationships
Familiar faces returning each season
Higher service quality
Because stability builds professionalism.
The Difference Between a Course and a Job
A divemaster course is education.
A job is employment.
The two cannot be confused.
A course should:
Have structured training
Include supervised learning
Build professional skills
Respect the student’s time and investment
A job involves:
Operational responsibilities
Scheduled work hours
Business productivity
Compensation
When a course begins to look like a job, something is wrong.
Especially if the student is paying for it.
“Understanding the Business” — Done the Right Way
Yes, divemasters should understand how a dive center operates.
But this can be taught without turning interns into workforce.
Professional learning can include:
Equipment preparation demonstrations
Planning dive logistics
Participating in safety briefings
Observing customer handling
Understanding risk management
Supporting real courses as trainees
This builds knowledge.
Not dependency.
Quality Training Requires Responsibility
Dive centers offering divemaster internships carry responsibility.
If a candidate pays for training, the dive shop must deliver:
Professional instruction
Structured development
Mentorship
Time for learning and reflection
Safety and legal compliance
A professional course is not about squeezing productivity from students.
It is about preparing future dive leaders.
Why the Industry Needs to Reflect
The dive industry prides itself on safety, ethics, and environmental protection.
Yet internally, it sometimes struggles with:
Labor practices
Training quality
Transparency in internships
If future professionals learn from a system where:
Labor replaces education
Costs override quality
Community impact is ignored
Then those habits continue.
But if future divemasters learn in environments where:
Education comes first
Local communities are respected
Professional standards are protected
The entire industry benefits.
A Different Approach to Divemaster Internships
There is another way to run divemaster internships.
One that focuses on:
Training instead of labor
Mentorship instead of workload
Community support instead of replacement
Long-term staff instead of seasonal turnover
In this model:
Interns don’t work for their certification
Interns don’t replace local employees
Interns learn leadership, not logistics dependency
Interns leave confident — not exhausted
The dive shop keeps its identity:
Familiar faces
Experienced staff
Strong community ties
And students receive what they came for:
A professional course.
The Future Divemaster
The divemaster of tomorrow should be:
Skilled
Confident
Ethical
Environmentally aware
Community-minded
Not someone who learned that professional diving means unpaid labor and long shifts.
The profession deserves better.
And so do the students.
Final Thought
A divemaster course is the beginning of a career — not a source of free labor.
It is about developing leaders underwater, not workers on land.
When candidates choose a divemaster internship, they should ask:
Am I here to learn or to work?
Is this training structured or operational?
Does this program support local communities?
Will I leave as a confident dive professional?
Because the right course doesn’t just produce certified divemasters.
It produces professionals who respect the ocean, the industry, and the people who depend on it.
And those are the divemasters who shape the future of diving.
Comments
Post a Comment