Personally from the reverse point of view I would be more concerned at doing my training at a DC that only runs two DM courses per year. Why only two per year?
This would suggest to me that not too many, or a limited variety of courses are being conducted at the DC. In which case, would there be a sufficient ammount of customers coming through the DC to give me a good experience whilst doing my training. Learning with a bigger variety of instructors, different courses and different customers will enable you to gain a broader base of experience from your course.
And yes Ringo, you are exactly right, certainly the DC's in the Pattaya area that I have experience of would, if not the next day, certainly within a couple of days be able to start a DM course.
Another thing to bear in mind is that a busy DC that has many instructors and a big customer base, Whilst it would not necesarilly provide the best conditions for a diving customer, or those doing entry level courses. For those wishing to become serious dive professionals and are Doing such as the DM course or above, such a DC can quite often provide the best conditions for doing such training.
When doing such courses it is not all about what you see underwater, its about the end result of your training that matters. That is of course if the motivation behind doing the course is to actually work in the industry.
Yes LK and thanks for your contrarian point of view. Your provisional conclusions are fair and I hope I can address them satisfactorily.
We run two per year for a number of reasons. Firstly we have a short season running from November until May. Our Divemaster Internships are for a minimum of two months. This period is extended for anybody doing any courses preceding the Divemaster Internship. We ARE a small dive operation and do not have the human resources (6 dive professionals next season) to run multiple overlapping courses where our Interns receive adequate attention from a number of different Dive Instructors. As such there is only time for us to provide two high quality Internship programs during any twelve month period.
We have sufficient customers coming through for training purposes. Last season our DM Interns assisted in DSDs, Open Water, Advanced & Rescue Courses. There were not many specs taught but from my experience this is quite normal in Thailand. Additionally, our Interns completed about 30 dives in the Surin Islands & Richelieu Rock.
Clearly professional courses are not all about what you see underwater and we are primarily motivated to provide top class education through our Divemaster Internships. Having only one Internship program running at any one time means that our dive school can focus on that particular group of trainees. Our interns do not feel like fragmented outcasts at the fringes of some large dive operations; rather they are at the core of our training schedule.
As is the case for anyone doing this course in tropical waters, it will not prepare them for guiding in cold & unfamiliar conditions. However, our interns do have to face strong currents at Surin & Richelieu and we periodically have low visibility to contend with at our local sites. Nevertheless, I would continue to advise that all Divemaster graduates stay within the limits of their training, gaining extensive experience in new environments before actually working in those places.
Aside from the Divemaster orientated training our internships are aimed at candidates who have a specific desire to learn about marine ecology. We have a 'Beautiful Oceans' Instructor and an experienced marine biologist on staff who actively get involved with teaching our interns about the marine life in the area. We also run a week long coral reef restoration module at the end of each internship.
Consequently our Internship program is absolutely not for everyone. When a poster e.g. Bermuda Blue express an interest in a broader social scene then I prefer to deter them than to encourage them. (We only have Mr.Chuoi's Bar. This is enough for us). However, for some individuals our Divemaster Internship is more suitable than any other in Thailand. There are not many (if any) dive centres in the country that offer unlimited diving directly from their beachfront shop AND diving at Richelieu Rock....
...or maybe since we are unwilling to offer a Divemaster course at the drop of a hat then we are not a fully functional dive centre
