Professional Association of Diving Instructors
The Professional Association of Diving Instructors is a recreational diving membership and diver training organization founded in 1966 by John Cronin and Ralph Erickson. PADI courses range from entry level to advanced recreational diver certification. Further, they provide several diving skills courses connected with specific equipment or conditions, some diving related informational courses and a range of recreational diving instructor certifications.
They also offer various technical diving courses. As of 2020, PADI claims to have issued 28 million scuba certifications. The levels are not specified and may include minor specialisations. Some of the certifications align with WRSTC and ISO standards, and these are recognised worldwide. Some other certification is unique to PADI and has no equivalence anywhere, or may be part of other agencies' standards for certification for more general diving skill levels.
History
In 1966, PADI was founded by John Cronin and Ralph Erickson. Cronin was originally a NAUI instructor who decided to form his own organization with Erickson, and to break diver training down into several modular courses instead of the single universal course then prevalent. Erickson developed continuing education scuba courses during this time and wrote the initial issue of the first trade magazine for scuba instructors, The Undersea Journal. Cronin got the idea for PADI's Positive Identification Card at a trade show. PADI established the Master Scuba Diver certification, the industry's first certification awarded for accumulation of specified certification and experience, and not based on a specific training program, in 1973, later launching the modular scuba program. By 1979, PADI was producing 100,000 certifications a year after previously hitting 25,000 a year. PADI was the first organization to use confined water or pool dives for training new divers and introduced the PADI Rescue Diver course and manual for rescue training during the 1980s.In 1989, PADI founded Project AWARE to help conserve underwater environments. In 1992, Project AWARE Foundation became a registered nonprofit organization with an environmental mission and purpose. PADI continues to partner with PADI AWARE, supporting the organization with in-kind services, donations through its processes and connection to the PADI network of divers, dive professionals and dive centers. PADI AWARE information has been integrated in most courses and divers are offered the chance to exchange their normal certification card for an AWARE-certification card by making a donation to the program when sending in their application for a new certification.
In 2006, PADI was severely criticized by a Coroner's court in the United Kingdom for providing what experts regarded as short and insufficient training. Although PADI training standards differ from those formerly prevalent in the United Kingdom under the BSAC system, PADI training standards are consistent with World Recreational Scuba Training Council standards.
On 9 August 2012, Lincolnshire Management and Providence Equity Partners jointly acquired PADI from Seidler Equity Partners. In 2015, Providence Equity Partners acquired majority stake of PADI from Lincolnshire Management.
In 2017, Providence Equity Partners LLC sold PADI to Canadian investment firm Altas Partners and French private equity firm Florac for 700 million USD, through an entity called Mandarin fish Holding.
In 2018, PADI launched PADI Travel, an online dive travel resource and booking platform for dive resort and live-aboard packages.
In 2021, PADI reported it had a membership of over 128,000 professional members and 6,600 dive centers, and had awarded more than 28 million diving certifications internationally. PADI operates in 186 countries and
territories. From 2015 to 2020, the average male to female membership split was approximately 63% to 37% respectively. The organization hosts Women's Dive Day events across the globe in an effort to increase awareness for women divers.
In 2025, Canadian investment firm Altas Partners and French private equity firm Florac sold PADI to a undisclosed owner.
Training system
PADI courses are performance-based diver training programs,and at the introductory level emphasizes practical knowledge, safety and motor skills. The basics of diving physics and physiology are introduced during entry level programs. The details of these concepts are left for later courses when they are necessary for the required competences of the specific training. According to PADI, these practices fall within current modern learning philosophies and receive regular updates via peer review.
The PADI training system is composed of modules with standardized learning objectives divided into theory and practical skills development. Each module is a stand-alone course for which certification is provided to the participant on successful completion of the course. Theory is mainly conveyed by way of self-study using books or digital training using PADI E-Learning. All study options are supplemented with video and, in most cases, live instruction to help the participant visualize what they have read. Confirmation of the student diver's level of competence in standardized knowledge review sessions is carried out by a scuba instructor using both written tests and personal observation during dives to verify the student's knowledge and skills. Practical skills are obtained through confined water training and performance evaluations in open water.
PADI courses target four progressive experience demographics, designated by PADI as "Youth", "Beginner", "Continuing Education" and "Professional". Options are available for students or instructors to attain additional certifications across a range of categories, including "Essentials", "Safety Focus", "Advanced Skills", "Cold Water", "Conservation", "Photography", "Discovery", "Freediving" and "Technical Diving".
For the youth demographic, the Padi Seal Team and Bubblemaker Programs are provided for students ages 8+.
As of 2023, the courses in "Beginner", "Continuing Education" and "Professional" categories include:
| Beginner | Continuing Education | Professional | |
| Essentials |
| ||
| Safety Focus | |||
| Advanced Skills | |||
| Cold Water | |||
| Conservation | Padi AWARE Speciality | ||
| Photography | |||
| Discovery | |||
| Freediving | |||
| Technical |
Training standards
PADI training standards are generally inaccessible to the public via internet search, making an informed decision on whether a specific training course is appropriate to the diver's needs difficult. Those few programs which comply with ISO standards can be assumed to at least nominally include all the requirements of the ISO standard, but not necessarily anything more.Some PADI courses, i.e. those which have no actual diving component, may be presented and assessed by a PADI Divemaster registered with PADI to run the specific course. Some additional training and course attendance is required. These courses do not include actual diving skills, just skills or knowledge that may be useful while diving or interesting in the context of diving.
Some PADI training standards have been found to be ambiguous of contradictory, For example, the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course does not require direct instructor supervision of a student during "adventure dives", which may include a diver's first experience using a dry suit, while the standard for the PADI Dry Suit Diver course requires not only direct supervision of the student by the instructor, during open water dives, but also that open water dives must be preceded by a theory class, and a confined water skills training session, both of which must be satisfactorily completed before venturing into open water.
A PADI Open Water Instructor can be registered as a specialty instructor for several specialties, without demonstrating competence to teach or even perform those specialties, including Dry Suit Diver, which requires a significant skill set and understanding of the principles to be done safely.