What a year at PADI IDC Gili Air!

Being part of a growing business on the Gili Islands brings me a lot of joy and fulfillment. Each year we see a growth in the amount of happy new dive instructors.

Being a PADI Course Director has its challenges. Next to evaluating, explaining different ways to organize courses, transferring knowledge and making candidates understand the importance of standards there is a big psychological aspect that can be quite draining. As a Course Director you are affected by the disappointments and the success of all the candidates, making it an emotional ride from beginning to end. Everyone, who has all the necessary prerequisites, can become a dive instructor. There is no discrimination in this field. This means that we get candidates from all over the world, with different backgrounds and of different age groups. Because of this variety, a harmonious group dynamic is often the hardest part to achieve. It’s also because of this variety that being a Course Director doesn’t feel like a job, but more of that of an educator creating a link between candidates, who all have the same goal in mind, and the professional dive community.

2016 has been amazing! I’ve had the privilege to educate many candidates and to build new friendships. Many of my candidates are working as a dive instructor in places all over the world, near and far. It is because of these candidates that some of my colleagues decided to become part of the IDC Staff.

Thanks to all the people I have educated in 2016 I can proudly call myself a Platinum PADI Course Director at Oceans 5 Gili Air after my first full year on the job.

A massive thank you to you all!

Platinum PADI Course Director Joeri van Hal