At TSD, we have designed a unique program to help you achieve your goals as a PADI Instructor.

Once you have earned the prestigious title of PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor, it is time to think about the next step - Specialty Instructor and PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer (MSDT).

To earn the MSDT rating you will complete 5 Specialty Instructor Ratings with our Course Director. Then after you gain 25 student certifications (you have personally certified 25 divers), you can apply directly to PADI to become an MSDT.

The PADI MSDT Prep program varies in length from 3 days up to two months. Many people opt to take this after the PADI IDC and IE when they first certify as a PADI OWSI but you can start it at any time.

There are two components to our MSDT Prep Course:

  1. Learning to teach while earning student certs
  2. Upgrading your Specialty Instructor ratings

PADI Instructors - Learn to Teach Diving

TSD's Learn to Teach program is a unique program developed by the team at TSD to fill a need that exists with almost all newly certified PADI Instructors.

During your DM course you will have assisted other Instructors with students in training, but after completion of your IDC, you will see teaching in a whole new light. Many people say it is similar to the change you feel when you go from being an Advanced to a Rescue Diver.

During your IDC you will learn all about the PADI system and get all the tools necessary to teach, but you can never really know how to teach without first hand experience.

Instead of being 'thrown in the deep end' to discover by trial and error how to teach for yourself, the Learn to Teach program at Thresher Shark Divers offers you a way to become a competent instructor at your own pace and under the nurturing eye of our very experienced PADI Instructors.

You can start this program as soon as you wish after the IE. It takes about 1 week for your instructor certification to come through from PADI HQ, and you cannot actually teach as an Instructor during this time. But you will be eager to start teaching and as a PADI Divemaster you will be able to do everything that a Divemaster can do. So you will start by assisting other Instructors. You will watch and learn from them. With the hindsight and experience of your IDC, you will see how they teach in a completely new light!

At the end of each session you will get a debriefing from the instructor, similar to the ones you received during your DM assists. These will include what you did well and what you can improve on as well as ideas for next time, feedback on how well you dealt with the task at hand etc.

As you get more confident you will slowly start taking over teaching from the Instructor, although they will always be there with you and you will still be learning from them. And as soon as your Instructor Application is processed, you will be able to start certifying students under your name, and working towards the 25 certs needed for MSDT.

We also offer the 'Learn to Teach' program as a stand alone program.

"Learn to Teach" is a program that was developed and named by Thresher Shark Divers, so don't accept any imitations!

PADI Speciality Instructor Ratings

Once you are a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor you will be able to teach all of the PADI core courses. But you will want to continue your education and branch out to teach other courses. Not only will this make for a more varied teaching experience for you, but it will increase your marketability to potential employers and enable you to sell more courses to your students.

After certification as a PADI Instructor we can immediately offer you Specialty Instructor courses. Choose from a wide range of PADI Specialty Instructor ratings. Some of the more popular are Nitrox, Digital Underwater Photography, Wreck, Deep and Night.

PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer - MSDT

Once you are an MSDT you will then able to certify divers completely up to Master Scuba Diver level, which is Open Water, AOW, EFR, Rescue and 5 Specialty certifications.

And then it's time to take the next step and start on the path to teaching instructors by becoming a PADI IDC Staff Instructor!