They don't do any tasks that a certified DM would do "prior to" becoming a certified DM. Same holds true for their Instructor program. They don't become DM's at the "end of" the internship. They start their training upon arrival and become certified DM's in the midst of the internship and with plenty of time to spare, prior to the end of the 4-6 month internship in order to work as a certified DM and put things into practice and gain experience. As for all of the other tasks and experience they are getting-- such as sales and marketing, customer relations, etc... that is happening throughout the entire internship around all of what we consider the normal "DM certification process" -- on a scheduled basis. That is probably as much as I can tell you. This is not how I became a DM, but how it has been related to me by others who have gone through Dressel. My route was here in the USA, through my local dive shop in the Pacific NW and for the purposes of giving back and volunteering around my day job. I have no desire to make a career in the dive industry, but lots of young people do and this may or may not be a viable route for some.
Gotcha. Thanks. Becoming certified partway through makes sense. Then it just makes me wonder how many of those people bail shortly after getting their cert and go looking for a job where they can get paid to do the same thing. Do they sign a contract that obligates them to either stick around until they've worked off their debt or actually pay the normal DM course fee?