It's the question all beginner divers ask themselves: which organization should I choose for my courses?
From the outside, the world of diving can seem very complicated. Which school? Which cursus? Intensive or progressive training?
Whatever the school, the most important criterion is, above all, the teaching quality of the instructor you choose, his or her attitude and experience. Whatever your final choice between SSI (Scuba School International) or PADI, the courses you take are governed by international standards and you can move from one organization to another without regressing or having to repeat a level.
At BORA OCEAN ADVENTURES, we selected SSI.
After teaching over 1,000 students around the world, it was clear to us that SSI was the obvious choice. Why did we choose SSI?
SSI is the world's largest center-based training agency. All SSI instructors are affiliated with a dive center with a physical existence. This guarantees that you're dealing with a true professional. With PADI, you can be a freelance instructor, with no attachment to a center.
At SSI, instructors tailor their training to each student. Depending on each student's skill level, the instructor may emphasize one exercise or skim over another.
Instructors can modulate courses flexibly between theoretical learning, learning in a protected environment and learning in a open water. This flexibility does not mean less safety, but rather greater adaptability to the needs of the student. It's possible to move on to another exercise and return to it when the student feels more confident to perform it. On the other hand, the instructor can enrich the lesson with his or her own teaching experience. Lessons are bound to be more exciting and instructive because they are not standardized.
PADI teaching is much stricter. You can't go back to an exercise if it's not done properly. The course follows a totally linear path. As a result, 90% of instructors are off-standard, because with modern teaching methods, it's impossible to follow a totally linear process for everyone.
SSI is the leader in e-learning.
Courses can be accessed via any device (smartphone, tablet, computer...), giving students instant access to the theoretical part of their online courses. All the learning materials are child's play, and it's also a significant ecological advantage. Other online systems are cumbersome, complicated and inefficient. Course updates are directly online, so students always have access to the latest version.
All training programs are offered in over 60 languages, making them easily accessible to everyone. In addition, SSI has developed an entire technical diving curriculum. PADI, on the other hand, remains resolutely recreational, with a TecRec branch that is outdated, uninspired and, above all, far behind today's world of technical diving.
Every year, SSI provides its instructors with material support, and pays particular attention to their image, as they are seen by the agency as long-term partners.
SSI provides you with your certificate as soon as it has been validated by your instructor, directly online. Thanks to the mobile application, you can access your certification card anywhere, anytime, at no extra cost. So there's no need to wait for a plastic card in the mail to start exploring the underwater world!
Last but not least, and this is not the most important quality of the SSI system, rates are much lower for all courses and specialties.
At BORA OCEAN ADVENTURES, you can obtain your first levels: Basic Diver, Scuba Diver or Open Water Diver, and thanks to our 11 specialties, you can become an Advanced Open Water Diver!
If, despite all these arguments, you still want PADI training, no problem! Most of our instructors are PADI instructors too.
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