So You Are Thinking About Opening The Door To New Posibilities As A Professional Diving Instructor.

Crossing over to become an SSI Instructor is one of the best choices you can make in the dive industry today.

Making the decision to Crossover to SSI as a diving instructor is more viable today than ever before. Our industry is changing rapidly and SSI is by far the fastest growing diver training agency in the world.
In the past there was one clear choice of agency when we became instructors, especially if you wanted to work in a dive destination or resort.  However that clarity of choice has become a bit more blurred and many instructors are crossing over to SSI. In the beginning many stay "dual agency" as they are not sure that they will survive as "just an SSI instructor",  however with time many are dropping their original agency and are thriving as SSI only instructors.
Now sit back, grab a glass of your preferred beverage and spend the next 10 minutes having a read that my change the rest of your life.

Someting important to be aware of if you are considering an Instructor Crossover to SSI.

Is your agency RSTC, CMAS or ISO/EN approved?

This is an important first consideration as there are a multitude of "agencies" forming on a weekly basis offering diver training which do not meet any of these basic requirements and as such will not be recognized if you choose to crossover to SSI. We would not want you to turn up for your crossover to find out that it is not as simple as you first thought
To find out if the agency is ISO approved just look at your Instructor card card and it will normally state that the training complies to ISO norms. You can also have a look at the WRSTC website for a list of approved agencies by region. Or the CMAS website to see if the agency is Coded. If your agency is not recognised you will have to pay for and do an Instructor Examination after the SSI crossover to validate your Instructor status.

What is involved in an SSI Instructor Crossover?

As you have already learned how to teach people to dive with your training agency the crossover is an introduction to the SSI Training Philosophy, you will learn new skills that you will teach as an SSI Instructor, and be given an overview of the entire SSI system.

What you will do on your SSI Instructor Crossover.

1. Learn about the SSI Diver Diamond training philosophy

Around a half of your time will be spent learning about the SSI system of diver education known as the Diver Diamond. This system is involved in all aspects of diver training at all levels. It is this philosophy that makes the SSI system of diver training a adaptive teaching method; you are encouraged to adapt your courses to your students needs and abilities as long as all requirements for the course are met within standards.

2. Learn "new skills" and how to present them.

As the saying goes "there is nothing new under the sun". This is true for diver training as the new skills you learn are ones you already know with a few variations/modifications. You will be shown the skills by an SSI Instructor Trainer and then get the chance to demonstrate them. You will also demonstrate a few other skills in "Diver Position" as SSI is, in most cases, a "No Knees" agency

3. Discover the SSI online system and the advantages it holds for you.

SSI is by far the most advanced diver training agency when it comes to e-learning. It is also streets ahead of the others when it comes to the digital support it gives to instructors and dive centres. Durring the crossover you will go hands on with the SSI online system and learn how it can make your life more simple as an instructor and your students time learning more enjoyable and rewarding.

Price, what you get for your money.

First, well done on getting this far on a web page with no interactive content, videos, infographics or cat gifs ;-)
Now money. You have decided that SSI may well be the way forward for you.
Now onto price, the crossover will cost around €600, Keep in mind this is the fee a Dive Centre is charging to get you ready to work as an SSI Instructor and covers up to Divemaster Instructor and includes all the Specialities you can teach with your current training agency.
You can check our equivalency table to find out where you fit in the SSI system
These are followed by a conclusion and then a chart that details what you get from your renewal fees from each agency. This is a real eye opener considering one agency is supposedly about Professional Instructors and the other is centered around Scuba Schools.

Fees are based on an instructor in the Euro Zone and include VAT at the standard rate in Malta.

Crossover Cost and Associated Fees

SSI Fee	Item
175	Course Materials including e-learning
120	Pro Registration
0	Dive Pro Pack
90	Instructor Pack
600	Price of 4 day Crossover
€955 + VAT	Total

Conclusion

If you are concerned that you won't find work as an SSI instructor go to diveSSI.com and have a look at the dealer locator, zoom in on the area where you want to work and then go to PADI.com and do the same thing in a second window. Now compare them side by side and I think you may be surprised by the result, especially if you plan on working in Europe or Asia.
In the end one agency is growing year on year and will be needing more instructors to fill the positions in dive centres. Also more dive centre owners are looking for SSI Instructors who can walk in and work from day one.
If you want to be part of the future of diver training then SSI is the obvious choice.
One final thought from our side, and then the Renewal fee chart as a final bit information for you.
As a dive centre we rely on our instructors being the best we can find to ensure we offer the best training we can. Currently our team of full time, freelance (yes we use freelance SSI Instructors) and guest instructors, includes former PADI Course Director, Master Instructor, IDC Staff Instructors and MSDT, all of whom invested a lot of time, money and effort in the PADI system and are all now SSI instructors. More than that they are happy with their choice to cross over to SSI.
Why? Because of the way SSI look after and reward their instructors, allow us to tailor our classes to our students and provide the best digital learning platform in the industry today.
In short they make it easy for us to do our job well knowing we have a great system and organisation behind us.

And now the final piece in the puzzle.

SSI	Item	PADI
€160 + VAT first year included, all crossovers done after Oct 15 include the following years renewal.	Annual ONLINE SCUBA Instructor Renewal Fee	€280 + VAT
Included	Annual ONLINE First Aid Instructor Renewal Fee	€80 + VAT
Included in all languages always up to date	Digital Student Level Materials	From €120 per course per language
Included in all languages always up to date	Student Final Exams	From €15 per course per language
Included in all languages always up to date	Digital Instructor manuals	Not Available
Included in all languages always up to date	Other Instructor Digital Materials	From €70 to €200 per course, non-updated
Included	Instructor E-cards	1 Time fee of €20 per e-card, replacement €25
Included	Pro App access	Not Available
-	Link to Official List of what you get with your renewal.	PADI
SSI	Link to cash back and Pro Rewards	NOT OFFERED

SSI Pro crossover INFO

If you have made it to here, and are still wondering if acrossover to SSI is the right option for you, feel free to contact us and we will be happy to talk to you about our experiences and why we are happy to be SSI Instructors.