mixing ssi and padi

[la_diver]

A friend is getting certified doing the class and pool with I believe ssi and planned on doing a referal in cozumel for the skills in open water. Question is could you finish you're certification with a different agency like padi or naui. Don't beleive the dive op. is the same agency that he will start with. Trying to help him get his ducks in a row. Any thoughts?

 

[tstormdiver]

If the training agency of the referral instructor is in the Universal referral program (a lot of them are), yes, the final check- out dives can be done by an instructor from another agency. The primary skills evaluated are the same.

 

[DevonDiver]

As tstormdiver stated, the 'universal referral program' (URP) allows divers to do this. SSI and PADI are both involved in the URP, so it shouldn't be a problem.

Just to be sure, make sure your friend clarifies this with both dive operations in advance.

 

[Rick Murchison]

Really?
When did PADI join?
Rick

SSI and PADI are both involved in the URP

 

[la_diver]

Thanks for the quick replies. I'll give him this info so that he can double check with the dive shop and dive op in Coz. Thanks again.

 

[Divedoggie]

He may need to be prepared to take the final exam with the new agency when he gets there. If he learned tables for dive planning, he will have to make some adjustments because the PADI, NAUI and SSI tables are not interchangeable. Its easy enough to figure each table out though.

 

[DevonDiver]

I was sure that PADI had released something about URP last year. I could be wrong - I'm not on my laptop that has my IM and updates etc.

 

[Rick Murchison]

AFAIK, URP members are PDIC, IDEA, SSI(NASDS), NAUI and YMCA(SEI)
If I send someone to a URP member instructor, I can depend on their getting the qualification dives per the program - that is, they can use the tables or computer they already know and don't have to take any additional written test. The referral paperwork comes back to me, goes into the student training record and the student gets their c-card through the referring (our) shop.
If I send someone to PADI, all bets are off - they may get the qual dives per the program... or ... they may be told their training is worth nothing and they must pay for and take the entire PADI course, or anything in between. For this reason I will only refer a student to a PADI instructor when PADI is the only agency who has instructors at the student's destination, and I do my very best to get the referral instructor to tell me in advance what's going to be required. I have had very bad experiences with PADI and referrals - been told the student will get the qual dives per the program only to have the student get popped for the cost of a full PADI course, have to take the PADI written and get issued a PADI c-card after the qual dives.
What I don't know is whether PADI has recently joined the URP (I doubt they have), or whether PADI has issued any official policy statement to their instructors on participation in the URP. From the posts in this thread it is apparent that there is still great confusion among PADI instructors on how the URP is supposed to work.
Rick

 

[Arizona]

I have not seen anything in the training updates with regard to PADI accepting referrals from other agencies in this manner. Obviously, if the complete course is completed with another agency it may qualify as a perquisite for other levels, but this is another issue at the discretion of the instructor.

To the OP, can your friend have his current instructor see if a referral is available as DevonDiver suggested? If not, complete the cert locally as time and effort already seems invested.

 

[scubadiver888]

PADI does participate in URP but they don't encourage it. From the PADI site:

PADI has procedures for accepting referred divers from other organizations to result in PADI certification. You can find this procedure in the "Open Water Diver Course Instructor Guide" under the section entitled Accepting Referral Students from Certification Organizations Other Than PADI.