FIVE Jamaican dive masters last week became internationally certified diving instructors after successfully completing a Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) course at Sandals Ochi Beach Resort.

The certification allows the divers to operate as instructors in any country, worldwide.

Sandals said the event was even more memorable as it was the first course of its type that was being run for the first time by a Jamaican course director, Sandals Group Watersports Director Michael Clarke.

The comprehensive course, which included theoretical and practical application, was conducted by Clarke in conjunction with Sandals PADI dive instructors Gino Nicholson, Venecia Williams and Dr Charles Eyles, while the subsequent two-day examination was convened by internationally certified examiners.

Participants included local Sandals and Beaches water sports team members, as well as individuals from other properties across Jamaica.

The subjects covered included physics, physiology, environment, equipment, and recreational dive planner, which is learning how to make decisions on how long divers can stay underwater without harming themselves.

At the awards ceremony, held at the resort following the completion of the course, Clarke urged the new instructors to go into their communities and find people who could make the ocean their careers. “Make sure your attitudes are right and work hard at your craft and no doubt you will be successful,” Clarke said.

“The international PADI course was part of our constant efforts to produce more diving instructors to meet the demands of guests in our local and international operations, as well as assisting in the development of Sandals and Jamaican divers as a whole,” said Clarke, a staunch supporter of staff training and development.

He urged the successful course participants not to settle for being dive instructors, but to aim at reaching the summit of their chosen profession.

“Our properties currently possess a dive master internship from which successful participants move on to become dive instructors. We saw the need to train our employees further as a part of our mandate to invest in human capital, and it also adds value to our guests’ experience,” Clarke said.

Also speaking at the awards ceremony were Erica Wedepohl — Caribbean territory director — PADI Americas, who lauded Sandals for their unwavering commitment to improving the standard of diving in the Caribbean. “This group was very special…you not just passed, you soared,“ she noted.