You know this is precisely why when I looked to train I spent a lot of time looking at different associations and decided I would go nowhere near PADI.
What on earth is the point of a course called equipment specialist if you finish the course not even competent to do basic maintainance?
In the end I had the options of PADI or CMAS and I decided to train with CMAS (Russia). All the things like cleaning kit, reg's, inspecting and changing 'o' rings and so on together with a lot of technical detail about how they actually worked was included in the 1* course. At 2* even more detail was given about types of first and second stage, tanks and so on and how they worked and differed from each other.
I looked at this course at the UK DIve Show two weeks ago and I am afraid from what I have seen and heard this course covers basics every diver should know anyway and in no way does anything to earn the title specialist.
From the Oxford English Dictionary :-
noun
a person who concentrates primarily on a particular subject or activity; a person highly skilled in a specific and restricted field:
I had thought about looking at a couple of PADI courses now I'm back in the UK but the more I hear the less likely I am to do so.
I think if this course doesn't make you competent to service kit, then it should not be called 'specialist' and should be renamed as something like equipment appreciation, or an introduction to equipment or such like. Giving someone a certifcate which says they are an equipment specialist is likely to lead to someone trying to do something beyond their competence or knowledge.
I certainly thought this was something more than it was until I started to look into it. Regards Phil