Course overview

Step up from guiding to teaching with the SSI Open Water Instructor programme, run on the UNESCO-protected reefs of Baa Atoll in the Maldives. Working through SSI's digital training system, candidates practise teaching presentations in the warm lagoons around Dharavandhoo before the SSI Instructor Training Course and evaluation. You graduate authorised to certify divers and join the SSI professional community.

What you’ll learn

• Deliver academic, confined-water and open-water teaching presentations
• Apply the SSI total teaching system and digital learning platform
• Demonstrate, evaluate and correct student skills to instructor level
• Manage diver risk and conduct training to standards in atoll conditions
• Brief and supervise students confidently on current-fed reefs
• Prepare for the SSI Instructor Evaluation

Prerequisites

• Minimum age 18
• SSI Dive Guide / Divemaster or equivalent leadership rating from a recognised agency
• Certified diver with relevant experience
• Recommended 75 or more logged dives entering the programme
• Current CPR, first aid and oxygen-provider training
• Diver medical clearance signed by a physician

What's included · What's not

Probability of sightings · month-by-month

What you're likely to see each month, based on historic operator logs.

Day-by-day itinerary

1. Day1
   Teaching foundations

   Orientation to the SSI teaching system and your first academic presentations.
2. Day2
   Confined-water workshops

   Rehearse skill demonstrations and teaching in calm, shallow lagoon water.
3. Day3
   Open-water teaching

   Deliver open-water teaching circuits on the house reefs near Dharavandhoo under evaluation.
4. Day4
   Standards & risk management

   Cover SSI standards, risk management and running a dive business.
5. Day5
   Science & standards exams

   Complete written science and standards assessments and a rescue review.
6. Day6
   Evaluation preparation

   Polish presentations and prepare for the SSI Instructor Evaluation.

Verified through iDive

Every partner school in the iDive network is vetted on safety, instructor credentials, equipment standards and student feedback. Talk to a iDive dive pro on WhatsApp for current availability and reviews specific to Baa Atoll.

Frequently asked questions