The National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI) is a non-profit organization, founded in 1960 and has remained at the forefront of diving training processes. Its aim is to make recreational diving safe through training and to create standards in the diving industry.
Source: Getting certified by NAUI Worldwide
What are the requirements to obtain a NAUI certification
To obtain your NAUI certification you must meet the skills required for each level of training. The training requirements of NAUI are equal to or superior to those of other agencies. To certify as Scuba Diver, you must comply with 5 open water dives, while in other agencies only 4. This feature requires the instructor and the student to be a better diver at the end of the certification process.
Other important features of the NAUI certification.
• The credentials do not expire.
• You can check OnLine the certification status of a diver or an instructor.
• The NAUI certifications exceed the minimum standards of the training industry for each level.
• They have validation and International recognition.
• From the first level of training skills and knowledge of first aid and rescue are incorporated thanks to the agreement with Divers Alert Network (DAN).
• NAUI has agreements with DAN to facilitate access to information about care and problem-solving procedures.
What it means to be a true NAUI professional
Being a true professional gives you a clear advantage over your competition. Understanding the value of this distinction and developing yourself as a professional is fundamental to your success.
While there is no definitive list of the qualities of a true professional, being one goes far beyond being paid for what you do.
True professionals are defined by who they are in terms of personal character and how these personal qualities apply practically. The professionals are people of high integrity. Professionals assume responsibility and take responsibility for their actions.
The professionals are confident and trustworthy. Professionals make customer service and satisfaction the top priorities. Professionals do more than expected and refuse to settle for average performance.
The professionals recognize the importance of “the general perspective” and understand its strategic implications. Professionals are deliberate about the development of their experience and are consistently and intentionally improving their knowledge, skills and experience.
Most people conform to the norms of human nature, taking the path of least resistance, accepting mediocrity as satisfactory, etc. NAUI training is more challenging than the programs of other agencies. Those who pursue NAUI training do so based on their desire to be better than average. As a member of NAUI, the individual demonstrates inherent characteristics to true professionals because he/she chose a more rigorous path to becoming a dive leader.
However, within us everything is the temptation to be complacent, and complacency has no part in the career of a true professional. Your professional development does not end with the completion of your NAUI leadership training; neither does it end after years of exceptional performance in teaching. Professionals constantly improve, constantly advance their knowledge and skills, and constantly improve the quality of the services they offer.
To enable NAUI leaders to continue to develop as expert diving professionals, NAUI provides excellent programs, including member updates, presentations and seminars, training workshops, the NAUI Business Institute (NBI) and webinars, along with the evolution of the standards and training materials.
The NAUI Board of Directors is committed to NAUI being the world-recognized leader in quality diving training. Achieving this goal includes ensuring that NAUI leaders achieve, maintain and improve their professional knowledge and skills. Recently, the NAUI Board approved standards to improve the quality of our First Aid training, improve the professional liability insurance requirements of NAUI, create a new membership class for the Free diver Instructor and approve the International Underwater Education Conference 2018 (ICUE).
A commitment to professional experience is personally beneficial for each member. In addition, it is important to maintain the mission of NAUI, establish NAUI as an industrial leader and professional association committed to safety, providing diving consumers with tangible evidence of NAUI’s commitment to quality and, most importantly, promoting the benefits of a greater security inherent in the training of NAUI.
NAUI is an excellent option for diving professionals, as evidenced by its growing number of members, affiliates and certifications. NAUI is improving and attracting new members and divers.
Be part of the excitement and growth of NAUI. Read your emails and newsletters from Headquarters and your regional representatives. Answer the official surveys of NAUI.
Take advantage of NAUI’s official resources to obtain accurate and reliable information; If you have any questions, please contact NAUI HQ or your Service Center and interact through the official NAUI social networking sites.
Promote and attend NAUI updates, seminars, workshops and webinars. Stay in touch and update, train all your students with the current NAUI standards and materials, and issue NAUI certifications.
The establishment of NAUI as a world leader in quality diving training requires that each of us take seriously our responsibility to be true professionals. By doing so, we will enjoy individual success and the benefits of being part of a vital and successful NAUI.
Scuba Diving Training for Recreational Divers
Source: Become a Certified Scuba Diver with NAUI
Skin Diver
– The diver should learn apnea diving in this course.
– Minimum age: 12 years.
Try Scuba
– This is not a diving course, but an opportunity for interested laymen to get a taste of diving. (Try Diving)
– Includes two guided dives in the pool or limited open water.
– Complies with ISO 11121 standard.
– Minimum age: 10 years
Passport Diver
– This is not a diving course, but a possibility for participants who have completed at least two open water dives in the NAUI Try Scuba program to make further trial dives without having to repeat the swimming pool dive.
– Minimum age: 10 years.
Scuba Diver
– The course is a basic dive training, in which diving students should learn the scuba diving in open water.
– Conforms to ISO 24801-2
Experienced Scuba Diver
– This training allows divers who are certified by another diving organization to switch to the NAUI training system.
– Minimum age: 15 years
– Prerequisite is any diving education and at least 25 logged dives.
Advanced Scuba Diver
– This course is an advanced course.
– The course includes at least six open water dives.
– Three dives include underwater navigation exercises, night dives and deep dives up to 131 feet.
– For three dives the exchange student can choose from 14 special training courses.
– Minimum age: 12 years
– Prerequisite is a completed basic dive training according to ISO 24801-2.
Master Scuba Diver
– This training should raise the diving skills and knowledge to the level of a diving course.
– The course includes at least eight open water dives.
– Five dives include rescue, decompression, limited visibility, underwater navigation, search and recovery exercises.
– For three dives, the student can select any NAUI specialty training.
– Minimum age: 15 years
Special Courses
NAUI offers numerous special courses:
– Advanced Skindiver (Advanced Apnea Diver)
– Blackwater Rescue (rescue from black water rivers)
– Boat Diver (Boat Diver)
– Computer Assisted Diving (diving with dive computer)
– Deep diver (deep diving)
– Diving Accident Assessment (rescue and first aid)
– Dry suit diver (dry diving)
– Enriched Air Nitrox (oxygen-enriched breathing air/nitrox, complies with standard: ISO 11107)
– Equipment and repair specialist
– Fish Identification (fish identification)
– Rrescue by rescue helicopter
– High Altitude Diver (Mountain lake diving)
– Industrial Orientation (professional diver)
– Marine Naturalist (Marine Biology)
– Oxygen Administration (Oxygen Operator)
– Public Safety Diver (safety diver)
– River Diver (drift diving)
– Scuba rescue diver (rescue diver)
– Search & Recovery
– Shark Ecology (Shark Ecology)
– Stingray Experience (Stage bottles)
– Training Assistant (Instructor Assistant)
– Underwater Archeologist (Underwater Archaeology)
– Underwater Ecologist (Biology and Ecology)
– Underwater Environment (oceanography, geology, biology, and ecology)
– Underwater Modeling (Underwater Mapping)
– Underwater Photographer (Underwater Photography)
Source: NAUI Dive Team Report – NAUI Dive Training and Processes
Trainings for professional diving
Assistant Instructor
– The training as Assistant Instructor (AI) imparts the didactic knowledge to train beginners and advanced divers under the supervision of a diving instructor.
– complies with ISO 24802-1 standard
– Minimum age: 18 years
Divemaster
– The Dive master (DM) course is designed to give a diver the skills and knowledge to safely lead a group as a dive guide. A NAUI Dive master should also be able to support a diving instructor during the training.
– Beside the group guidance the course imparts the whole knowledge about the diving sport which is contained in the diving instructor trainings based on it. Excluded are of course the didactic topics included in the instructor training.
– corresponds largely to the standard ISO 24801-3 (Dive Leader)
– Minimum age: 18 years
Instructor
– The course provides the Instructor Candidate with the skills to teach student divers and take exams.
– The course enables instructors from other diving organizations to be certified as NAUI Instructors.
– complies with ISO 24802-2 standard
– Prerequisite for the ITC is a certification as NAUI Assistant Instructor or NAUI Dive master, which is not older than one year, as well as at least 50 logged dives.
– Prerequisites for the ICC are certification according to ISO 24802-2, at least 80 hours experience as a diving instructor and at least 50 logged dives.
Instructor Trainer
– The certification as Instructor Trainer (IT) entitles the holder to take diving instructor exams under the supervision of a NAUI Examiner and can only be applied for by a NAUI Examiner.