Occupational diver training?

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lilifellini

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I'm a recreational diver (so far certified up to Rescue Diver) and a professional photographer - but I want to start moving towards combining the two. A colleague once told me that he needed to complete "occupational diver training" before a number of clients in our field would hire him.

First of all, I'm not turning up much when I search for occupational diver training on the internet (except for schools that seem to be aimed at full-on industrial diving careers).

Has anyone here done occupational diver training? I'm curious about what it involves and how long it takes. I'm based out of London England and Vancouver Canada. Are there any recommendations on what I should be looking for in a school, and are there any schools in my locations anyone could recommend?

Any suggestions or pointers would be wonderful.
 
I am not a pro but I know a fair amount and I do a bits and peices of freelance underwater videography on occasion. Anyway, other than commercial diver training I've never heard of what your describing. Rescue diver should be enough although if you have limited experience in underwater photography you may want to take a course in it for the skills and to show prospective clients that you have some training. You will also want to think about various extra equipment like pony bottles if your clients aren't going to be paying for a buddy for you.
 
lilifellini:
I'm a recreational diver (so far certified up to Rescue Diver) and a professional photographer - but I want to start moving towards combining the two. A colleague once told me that he needed to complete "occupational diver training" before a number of clients in our field would hire him.

First of all, I'm not turning up much when I search for occupational diver training on the internet (except for schools that seem to be aimed at full-on industrial diving careers).

Has anyone here done occupational diver training? I'm curious about what it involves and how long it takes. I'm based out of London England and Vancouver Canada. Are there any recommendations on what I should be looking for in a school, and are there any schools in my locations anyone could recommend?

Any suggestions or pointers would be wonderful.
Click to expand...

...a long time & have never heard of such a course.

What you might do is look into gaining certification through the American Academy of Underwater Sciences. They managed to make a case for regulating their scientific diving ops. outside of the OSHA diving regulations by putting together a pretty substantial trainig regimen. Drop a note to Thalasamania & ask for some guideance to this program. It might qualify you to meet your potential employers' needs.

Regards,
DSD
 
I"m not sure about England, but if you're looking for around vancouver it probably has something to do with WCB. There is a commercial diving school in victoria that offers several courses aimed at people wanting to do "lite" commercial diving (underwater film at 70ft as opposed to surface supply underwater welding at 200ft on an oil rig).

Check out DiveSafe International - BC, Canada, Commercial diving courses for careers in Aquaculture, Engineering Inspections, Environmental Surveys, Scientific/Research Diving and more.. Their commercial scuba diver course is probably the closest thing to what you want. I think the course takes 5 weeks, I haven't taken it but I have 2 friends who have.

Edit: wow, what scubaboard did to my link kind of freaks me out.
 
Look for an HSE compliant course.

There are various levels of equipment qualification (SCUBA, SSD, CIVILS) you can pursue the route that will offer you the most work initially getting started in the field.

for more information check out
The Commercial Diving Directory

The site is run by a British commercial diver, you will also find information on schools closest to your area.


Jeff
 
Thank you very much for all the info and pointers - I'm much further ahead than I was and will get on with some research now.

Cheers.
 
hi there. the divesafe course linked earlier is in campbell river [ on vancouver island] and is one of the best for occupational scuba. I took my course thru them awhile ago , and from what i've seen of the training recieved by others i've worked with , divesafe rules lol. this is for the

wcb [workers compensation board] requirements to 'work' as a diver on scuba in BC. they also have a surface supply course that runs just after the scuba course. i live and work not fare from them, so if u need assistance pm me ttfn safe diving
 
DeepSeaDan:
...a long time & have never heard of such a course.

What you might do is look into gaining certification through the American Academy of Underwater Sciences. They managed to make a case for regulating their scientific diving ops. outside of the OSHA diving regulations by putting together a pretty substantial trainig regimen. Drop a note to Thalasamania & ask for some guideance to this program. It might qualify you to meet your potential employers' needs.

Regards,
DSD
Click to expand...
AAUS does not certify nor does it have instructors, it is an organization of academic institutions that is custodian of a set of voluntary diving standards. That said, I could put someone through a training program and based on my signature that individual would be accepted at AAUS member institutions without having to go through their local training program, though a checkout dive and written exam are a real possibility (I face those hurdles when I go to dive under the auspices of a new institution). I'm not exactly sure how that would help in the circumstances described (it might help in Canada, but not in GB) but I'd be happy to help.
 
I'm guessing that the UK is very much the same as here in NZ. "Occupational diver" is a term, rather than a course. So here OSH define an occupational diver as one who receives some reward for their diving circumstances. When I lived in the UK, I wasn't a pro-diver, but there are so many parallels between the two cultures/legal systems that I'd be fairly confident that the HSE are working along similar guidelines.

Here, an occupational diver has to have a "certificate of competency" issued by OSH - it's not a course at all, just a confirmation that you are fit to dive and are competent to provide the services you are providing. I'd get in touch with HSE and ask them the questions.
 
We have a similar situation in the US. The Federal OSHA regulates commercial diving (diving for pay) but there are four basic exceptions. Federal divers (e.g., NOAA, National Parks, etc.), Public Safety divers (but they may be subject to state OSHA rules), recreational diving instructors (exempt) and scientific divers (able to choose if they will operate under OSHA or will operate under the alternate standard promulgated by AAUS).
 
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