The techniques is not useless, the certs are..
The value of training is very different to the value of certification. Training is about real-world competency. Certifications only have 2 practical values:
1) To provide evidence of prerequisite training for future development. If a given course does not feature in the required prerequisites for any future training, then this value is moot. This is the case for most, but not all, specialty courses.
2) To provide evidence of prerequisite training / assessed competence with specialist techniques or equipment. This value is entirely dependent on whether the scuba industry demands training/competence in a given area, or not. For instance, proof of certification to obtain a supply of nitrox is virtually universal. Deep Diver qualification to exceed 30m/100ft is generally required. Night Diver qualification to do a night dive would be very rare. Underwater Photographer qualification to carry a camera on a dive is pretty much unheard of..
AOW is a rare beast - it isn't necessary for diving to 30m/100ft... it doesn't train to dive to 30m/100ft... but has been popularly adopted by the industry as a minimum prerequisite for diving in the 18m/60ft - 30m/100ft range. It is utilized as a very general proof of prerequisite '
experience beyond OW level'. It is also a prerequisite certification for Rescue Diver and a number of specialty courses. That gives it a 'value' that is unrelated to what the course actually aims to accomplish.
In that sense, certifications (especially specialty) are often perceived as
valueless more often than not, even though they provide specific skills and knowledge applicable to specific activities or equipment. In contrast, AOW has a perceived
high value, despite providing relatively few (no?) additional specific knowledge, skills or equipment competency.
With regards to currents, any good briefing will cover what you have to know and a few dives where you pay attention will give you experience in how to handle them..
Looking at the Drift course requirements, it is a bit useless. The course I took far exceeded the performance standards and included DSMB deployment and the use of SMB (deployed all dive) with reel etc.. We were taught how to use underwater topography to influence the effect of currents. We were shown (not just taught) what a down-current was..and how to cope with it. We were also shown how to do negative entries, use 'reef hooks', exit via drift/trail lines from boats etc etc...
However, this is what we 'achieved' for the qualification:
Drift Dive 1 Performance Requirements.
By the end of this open water training session, you will be able to:
• Perform an entry specific to the particular environmental conditions and plan for the drift dive.
• Maintain dive buddy contact specific to the particular environmental conditions and dive plan.
• Maintain neutral buoyancy during the drift dive, avoiding unintended and/or destructive contact with the bottom.
• Perform a safety stop at 5 metres/15 feet for at least three minutes prior to surfacing from the drift dive.
• Perform an exit specific to the particular environmental conditions and plan for the drift dive.
Drift Dive 1 Performance Requirements.
By the end of this open water training session, you will be able to:
• Perform an entry specific to the particular environmental conditions and plan for the drift dive.
• Maintain dive buddy contact specific to the particular environmental conditions and dive plan.
• Maintain neutral buoyancy during the drift dive, avoiding unintended and/or destructive contact with the bottom.
• Determine the direction of drift, and relative strength of the current present during the dive.
• Ascend at a rate not in excess of 18 metres/60 feet per minute.
• Without maintaining physical contact with a float reference line, perform a safety stop at 5 metres/15 feet for at least three minutes prior to surfacing from the drift dive.
• Perform an exit specific to the particular environmental conditions.
As with many things 'PADI', the actual performance requirements for the course are a shambles. They can be interpreted to a greater or lesser degree by the instructor to provide very variable quality of training. As with the Wreck Diver course - there seems to be deliberate fuzziness in the standards to permit the course to be run universally regardless of the availability of appropriate training locations. You can 'fulfill' wreck requirements on a sunken canoe... you can 'fulfill' drift requirements in a flat-calm quarry.. yuk..