Utila Dive Centre in the Caribbean Bay Islands is a full service PADI Career Development Center offering dive training from beginner to PADI Scuba Instructor with unlimited diving and internships. We also offer technical, rebreather and boat handling courses and all this on an affordable island with amazing diving.

1. INSTRUCTOR
DEVELOPMENT
course

2. Index
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INTRODUCTION
OUR RECORD AND REPUTATION
OUR FACILITY
THE CARIBBEAN ISLAND OF UTILA
BEAUTIFUL OCEANS & PROJECT AWARE CORAL WATCH
OUR IDC CURRICULUM
OUR IDC TEAM
PAPERWORK REQUIREMENTS
SCHEDULE AND LOGISTICS
SAMPLE SCHEDULE
ONLINE PRE-IDC STUDY
MORE OPTIONS FOR YOU
GLOBAL DIVE NETWORK
AFTER THE PADI IE
IAHD ADAPTIVE DIVE PARTNER/PRO
INTERNATIONAL YACHT TRAINING
RECREATIONAL CLOSED CIRCUIT REBREATHER COURSE
LIFESTYLE OF A DIVE PRO IN UTILA
THE DIVE SHACK
OUR COMMITMENT TO YOU
OUR PLEDGE
TESTIMONIALS
RESERVATION DETAILS
GO PRO / IDC 2014 SCHEDULE

3. Introduction
Why choose UDC for your IDC?
As a dive professional you want to make sure that you get
off to the best start with your dive career and that means
looking for the right dive facility and staff to undertake your
PADI ‘Instructor Development Course’ and ‘Instructor level’
continuing education programs with.
Every dive operation differs from what it can offer and whether if it is best suited for you, to the philosophies behind its
diver education programs, to its business principles, it’s staff
and it’s conservation efforts within the dive community.
We composed this document to help you decide if ‘Utila Dive
Centre’ is the place where you would like to be trained as a
PADI Instructor and if our team, of dive professionals are the
people you want to learn from.
We don’t claim or boast to be the best or the biggest, there are other much
more commercial, bigger and more business orientated dive schools where
you can undertake your course but we prefer a more personalized, real
world approach to instructor training. We don’t even claim to be the cheapest, and don’t want to be, you only get one chance to invest in your PADI IDC
and we hope to be the right one, even if we cost a little more, that difference
benefits you for your entire professional career. At Utila Dive Centre we are
principally a dedicated team of active divers and professionals (we believe
the most qualified and active worldwide!), and we all still continue our own
education each year, and really take our mentorship and role-modeling seriously and we measure our success not by financials, numbers or pass rates,
but by how our candidates succeed within the industry, and for that reason
take an ongoing interest in every one of the Instructors we train, not just during the courses but years after their time with us.
We definitely aren’t trying to give you the ‘hard sell’ but as all our Instructors and Divemasters were once in a similar position we just want you to be as fully informed as possible before making the decision to ‘Go Pro’.We hope this gives you an idea of what you
receive when you take your training with us in regards to our staff, experience, facility,
reputation, attitude, ambience, atmosphere and training philosophies.
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4. Our record
and reputation
Utila Dive Centre was established in 1990, the 1st on
Utila, by several diving enthusiasts and PADI Instructors
traveling throughout Central America and the Caribbean,
who as PADI Instructors wanted to offer diving in a professional, safe and enjoyable manner to travelers visiting
Utila. Since then Utila Dive Centre has grown to become
a full service dive operation, with a beautiful hotel the
Mango Inn complete with swimming pool, and has probably trained more divers than any other dive facility in
the Bay Islands and Caribbean and is one of the most
awarded PADI Career Development Centers worldwide.
Utila Dive Centre works closely with the Divers Alert Network, PADI, Project Aware and Beautiful Oceans and the
Utila Centre for Marine Ecology to improve and educate
divers about safety and has been awarded the rating of
a PADI Career Development Center, only a few facilities
worldwide have earned this coveted rating from PADI, and
works on many community projects with the ‘Bay Islands
Conservation Association’ and closely with PADI’s Project
Aware. In 2007 we set up a non-profit Honduran NGO
the ‘Utila Centre for Marine Ecology’ in order to better
conserve the reef systems and mangroves around Utila,
and has now evolved to become a national driving force
in conservation ‘Centre for Marine Ecology’. 2014 sees
UDC entering its 23rd year of training dive professionals
and making a difference!
In 2013 more than four times as many PADI Divemasters, particularly those living on Utila, chose
to conduct their IDC with with us over any other
facility in the Bay Islands and Central America. We
take this as a tribute to the high quality of our
staff, facility and their much deserved reputation.
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5. Our record and reputation...
The fact that 80% of our Divemasters and Instructor candidates are referred to us by ‘word of mouth’
shows the commitment, comfort and quality that we
put into our professional courses.
At Utila Dive Centre, a Career Development Center,
our team guarantee your success, whilst other facilities sell certifications we pride ourselves on providing
quality training. After all you are only as successful as
the training program you enroll on and the Instructors
who provide this.
We ensure that in addition to professionalism, safety, high
standards, all our students, whether beginners or professionals leave UDC having had a rewarding, exciting, educational
and fun experience with an open door to ever returning in the
future. As a dive professional trained at Utila Dive Centre you
have an open door to ever returning in the future.
In 2010 we were awarded the best PADI IDC center in the
world by Sport Diver UK (the official publication of the PADI diving society) and what makes this award even more rewarding
is that it was voted for by the professional diving community.
There’s no other facility worldwide that has so many peer endorsements and recommendations for recreational and professional dive training.
In 2013 & 2012 we were finalists for the PADI Instructor
Development award and in 2011 and 2010 Utila Dive Centre
was also voted the #1 PADI Instructor Development Center in
the world by PADI Americas, no other operator in the region
meets such high standards and we’ve been compared to some
of the world’s top Universities, such as Harvard and Oxford but
for professional dive training.
In 2013, 2012 & 2011 we were also awarded by Project Aware
for our environmental achievements and being one of the most
environmentally friendly dive operations and operating with a
conscience. When you join us for your training, you’ll also be
contributing to making a cleaner and greener planetfor current
and future divers.
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6. Our facility
Utila Dive Center & the Mango Inn
Our 4 classrooms are all modern, air-conditioned and lessons are given using the
latest multimedia ‘Microsoft PowerPoint’ presentations. Every IDC candidate has their
own ‘work station’ and access to the Internet.
We have 5 fully equipped dive boats, 24 hour back up power generator, a state of the art compressors system with over 8000 cubic foot of air
banked, 60 sets of Scubapro, Aqualung and Cressi Sub rental equipment,
private locker rooms, quiet study areas, the most comprehensive dive retail outlet on Utila, and a beautiful dock area constructed over the water
with social amenities.
Our ‘swimming/training pool’ is a shallow protected clear body of water lined with
palm trees, white sands and will prepare you best for when you yourself come to
teach diving in exactly this same kind of environment. The IDC is held in the Mango
Inn hotel conference facility complete with swimming pool, this dedicated IDC centre
ensures that your class time is free from distractions, there is a restaurant, wireless
internet, and lunches are provided during the course. Our on site swimming pool ensures that we can have as much time as possible with you in the water to work on skill
development and make you the best Instructor we can, particularly should weather
conditions become adverse.
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7. The Caribbean Island
of Utila
There’s a few other amazing reasons why Utila is one of the best training destinations
in the Americas, and worldwide, for your dive career training. Whilst many locations
have a handful of dive sites, that you often only get out to a few times a week, you’ll
find on Utila our diving is comprised of amazing reef systems, and our diving is a little
more diverse than most warm water destinations and we send several boats out a
day offering you more diving, which you won’t find in many other areas and we have
over 80 buoyed sites around the island. Also on the North side of Utila we have sheer
walls and drop offs that go several hundred meters, obviously we don’t go that deep!
This is where we find the gentile and majestic Whale shark (with year round sightings)
and also we have regular encounters with Dolphins and on the South side of Utila we
have a fringing reef system with spur and groove formations where you’ll find some
of the more diverse creatures in the Caribbean, the REEF group that publish the ‘Caribbean Fish ID’ series of books have voted the Bay Islands the most diverse region
in the Caribbean for aquatic life. There are Eels, turtles, Spotted Drums, Stonefish,
Frogfish and a plethora of other inhabitants of the reef. The visibility here averages
20-30mt/60-100ft and water temp averages 26-28c/84-88f.
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8. The Caribbean Island of Utila...
Utila is less commercial than the other Bay Islands and most islands in the Caribbean,
and the Yucatan of Mexico, and you won’t find deludes of cruise ships, motor traffic,
condominium developers or mass tourism, instead the island is reminiscent of the
traditional Caribbean way of living. Whilst there is not an international airport on the
island, this has protected the island from over development and allowed it to retain
its natural charm and beauty, and Utila is still within easy reach of the mainland. The
island is English/Spanish speaking, very safe and friendly, and you won’t need to take
taxis or shuttles to get around the island, or waste time commuting, and most people
get around by bicycle, and you have easy access to supermarkets, apartments, all
close to our dive centre. Utila is also one of the most affordable destinations to live
and train on in the Caribbean as well, due to the lack of commercial development
on the island. If you compare to other destinations nearby for training, you can often spend hours stuck in traffic each day commuting to resorts/hotels, or long boat
rides to dive sites. The effort in reaching Utila is made up in a matter of days with the
amount and quality of diving you’ll get to do, lifestyle, low cost of living, and quality
of training and additional options.
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9. Beautiful Oceans &
Project Aware
Coral Watch
Todays dive professional also needs to have a thorough understanding of the marine
environment, coral reefs and ecosystems, and the majority of divers and students want
to receive additional training and education in marine science.
Beautiful Oceans programs are designed to help dive professionals better understand
marine biology, ecology, species and ecosystems, and give them new skills which will
make them more employable, knowledgeable and to provide better experiences that
today’s diver and snorkeller seeks from their adventures. These programs are taught
exclusively by Beautiful Oceans Science Instructors and are open to all PADI Divemasters & Instructors to qualify, you do not need to have been a diver for 6 months to take
a Beautiful Oceans Science Instructor, as all learning is designed to take place in the
classroom with optional application on discovery dives in the water.
In 2014 we will be continuing our partnership, for the 5th consecutive year, with
PADI’s Project Aware and the University of Queensland, to integrate the CoralWatch
surveying into our Divemaster course and new for 2014 we are now allowing Instructor candidates who are also interning on either our Divemaster or MSDT internships
to partake in this program. Every week at UDC you will visit Utilas reefs and compare
colours of corals with colours on the chart and record matching codes, then you’ll
upload the information to a scientific database. It is our goal at UDC to train you
beyond a basic Divemaster/Instructor and to give something back to Utila’s reefs for
the enjoyment we take from them, and to also allow you to educate your own divers
and students in the future to a higher level of environmental awareness. Also we aim
to both provide a scientific tool and increase your awareness about global warming
by demonstrating one of its devastating effects. We’re fortunate at UDC to have the
boats, tanks, staff and resource to offer such a program to your benefit and also to the
reefs in the Bay Islands of Honduras.
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10. Curriculum
Our Instructor Development Course
Our IDC is 4 days longer than the industry standard of 7
days, that’s 11 days of quality instructor training. The last
2 days of our IDC are conducted as a ‘mock’ Instructor Examination to give you better preparation and insight into
the real IE. However from our experience as a dive centre
that trains over 1500 divers a year, at all levels, we know
how much more important it is to prepare a candidate for
the real world of dive instruction rather than just to pass
the Instructor Examinations.
We’ve extended our IDC program to cover more
effective teaching techniques, discuss instructing in
different worldwide environments, look at greater career opportunities in diving including ‘diver
safety’ and ‘technical diving’ and resume preparation. As one of the most prestigious and awarded dive training facilites in the world we receive
a lot of job applications everyday so we’ll show
you exactly what it takes to become a successful
Instructor and what gives you the best chance of
success as a professional in today’s dive industry.
As the only facility on Utila with ‘rebreathers we’ll
spend extra time looking at future trends in diving
‘rebreathers’.
All this is done in a low stress, relaxed and most importantly ‘fun’ environment. Although the actual number of
hours per day on the IDC are about 8 we have our IDC
facility open at least 12 hours per day so anytime our
candidates need quiet study time, assignment preparation time, private discussion or career counseling they get
it! Our staff are available outside of regular hours for any
remedial tuition or 1 to 1 coaching, remember we want
you to succeed as a first rate dive instructor, not just pass
the IE!
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11. Our team
for the Instructor Development
If you’ve been impressed with what you’ve read so far then what you’re about to read
will really make you smile and look forward to training with us. Our Course Directors
and IDC Staff instructors have received recognition from PADI for their teaching efforts
and numerous ‘certificates of excellence’ which you’ll see immediately once you walk
into our dive center on display, and between them have to date issued over 8000 PADI
certifications and in the last 13 years have conducted over 150 PADI ‘Instructor Development Courses’ and certified over 2000 ‘Open Water Scuba Instructors’ including
numerous ‘Specialty Instructors’, ‘IDC Staff Instructors’ and ‘PADI Tec and Rebreather
Instructors’. Our IDC’s are directed by our in house Course Director, Andy Phillips
(who has taught and dived all over the world, Egypt Red Sea, Thailand SE Asia, Galapagos/Costa Rica Pacific, Cyprus Mediterranean, Caribbean and South Africa).
This gives us a unique advantage in making our IDC much more real world rather
than bore you with too much traditional academics and allows you to draw and learn
from years of diverse teaching experience. Our Course Director and IDC Staff assistants are also qualified to teach both recreational and technical diving up to ‘Trimix Instructor’, and can also marine science training with programs from ‘Beautiful
Oceans’, (no other Course Director or IDC Staff Instructor in Honduras can
offer this and no other facility in Central America can offer you 2 full time
‘Platinum rated’ resident Course Directors/Science Instructor Trainers committed to your success, personal attention and development!!!) and the full
range of ‘Divers Alert Network’ programs. In addition to having your IDC run by 2
experienced PADI Course Directors there will also be IDC Staff assistants, who can
also teach in German/Hebrew/English/Spanish/French, working with you for closer
supervision and attention. When our staff aren’t working on IDC’s they are instructing
beginners or diving on Utilas reefs, both shallow and deep technical dives, working on
community projects, promoting diver safety or simply enjoying the quality, beauty and
tranquility of the Caribbean lifestyle. If our dive professionals were told they weren’t
too be paid for their work they would still place as much commitment and time into
making you the best Instructor possible, why? Simply because we love what we do and
our passion for diving is genuine and real, just make sure we all get a cold ‘sunset
beer’ at the end of a good days diving.
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12. Our team for the Instructor Development...
ANDY PHILLIPS (UK)
PADI Platnum Course Director
PADI Trimix & Rebreather Instructor Trainer
DAN Instructor Trainer
IANTD Instructor Trainer
International Association Handicapped Divers Instructor Trainer
International Yacht Training Instructor Trainer
Beautiful Oceans Science Instructor Trainer
Utila Dive Centre’s ‘Director of Professional Training’
Andy has taught and dived all over the world, Egypt Red
Sea, Thailand SE Asia, Galapagos/Costa Rica Pacific, Cyprus Mediterranean, Caribbean, Yucatan caves of Mexico and South Africa. His award winning IDC’s have seen
him receive countless certificates of excellence from PADI
Vice President James Morgan based on the comments and
feed back of the Instructors that he has trained. Andy has
over 5000 logged dives, is also a PADI Trimix & Rebreather Instructor Trainer, DAN Instructor Trainer, IYT Instructor
Trainer and IANTD Instructor Trainer. Andy has trained over
3000 divers and 1800 Instructors and is an accomplished
and experienced mixed gas technical diver and cave explorer, and has an extensive network of dive professionals
worldwide that help with job placement and career development. Andy’s hobbies outside of diving are kite surfing, travel, trekking and off road mountain biking. Prior to
working in the scuba industry in Andy worked in commercial insurance in market analysis and designing future policies, his business background and expertise will help you
get the best possible start to your professional dive career.
Andy recently completed a Masters degree in ecommerce
and integrates additional information into our IDCs to help
our instructor candidates to understand the direction of the
dive industry and how the internet is shaping education,
training, and sales online. Andy has also been invited as
a speaker at dive conferences on topics such as ‘Environmental education’ (Beautiful Oceans DEMA 2006), ‘Dive
industry innovation’ (PADI DEMA 2009 & 2011), ‘Project
Aware CoralWatch’ (UK DIVE SHOW 2010 & 2011) and
has consulted with PADI on curriculum topics.
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13. Our team for the Instructor Development...
JHAIR HERRERA (Venezuela)
PADI Platinum Course Director
PADI Tec Deep/Trimix Instructor Trainer
International Association Handicapped Divers Instructor Trainer
International Yacht Training Instructor Trainer
DJ Extraordinaire
Jhair is also a PADI Course Director and works full time on our Divemaster and Instructor courses. Originally from Venezuela and fluent
in Spanish, English, Italian and Portugese, and in addition to assisting on our IDC’s he also runs our Instructor classes in Spanish! Jhair
has worked as an Instructor and dive centre Manager in Venezuela
and Colombia and dived around the world. Jhair is also a technical wizard in compressor maintenance and equipment repair, and
very savvy with web 2.0 technologies and social media marketing in
scuba diving. As a dedicated professional and avid diver he continues
to advance his diving education and is a passionate tec diver and
explorer and he brings a wealth of teaching and diving experience
to our programs. He also puts on tech and sidemount intro dives
for our candidates and lends his expertise to our specialty Instructor
courses. He’s so passionate about diving that we often have to ask
him to slow down when talking about scuba and tec diving, as he
even speaks faster and better English than a native speaker! Jhair
is also an established local DJ and really gets the party going at our
graduation celebrations.
ALAN SIMMONS
PADI Master Instructor
PADI Tec Deep Instructor
Alan is from the UK with a mixed background in the British Royal
Navy and also in the business administration sector. Like many of
our staff and candidates, he grew tired of the 9-5 and decided to
finally leave his desk and wet skies behind, taking the plunge and
swapping them for a new office under the ocean. He become an
Instructor with Utila Dive Centre in 2004 and has dived all over
the world, from the Mediterranean to Caribbean and from the UK
to Australia, where he first became a dive professional. He loves
any type of diving that require a lot of tanks, having a passion for
sidemount, tec and tri-mix and especially enjoys seeing new divers’ faces light up after their first experiences in the water, and
loves to hear from instructor candidates he has worked with on
their IDC’s after they themselves venture out with their own first
students. He believes you should try everything once, except pink
fins. Alan is probably one of the most well liked and respected
members of our staff, and all students and his colleagues show
him the utmost respect and courtesy - but perhaps that’s because
of his navy background (in addition to being a great Instructor and
also Manager of our MSDT internship program at UDC)!
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14. Our team for the Instructor Development...
CATHERINE-JANE HOWARTH (UK)
Bsc Marine Biology
PADI IDC Staff Instructor
PADI Trimix Instructor
CJ is our Tec Instructor and in addition to assisting on our IDC’s
also conducts our tec diving courses at UDC and can teach sidemount and trimix diving! CJ is a qualified marine biologist and has
dived all around the world, including the cooler climate of the UK
waters. She has become involved in technical diving and is one of
the few female PADI Trimix Instructors in the Caribbean and Central America and has several 300ft/90 meter dives to her credit
around Utila’s Northside walls. CJ assists on our Instructor courses
and brings a wealth of teaching and diving experience to our programs. In addition to giving IDC presentations, she also puts on
tech and sidemount intro dives for our candidates and lends her
expertise to our specialty Instructor courses particulary our Beautiful Oceans Science Instructor courses. Being a good role model,
CJ rarely drinks, so when we celebrate your success at the Instructor parties, she’s the one with the funny stories the next day!
THERESE CLARKE (IRELAND)
PADI IDC Staff Instructor
EFR Instructor
Specialty Instructor; Wreck, Nitrox, Equipment, O2 provider,
Gas Blender, Underwater Photography, Deep.
Therese is originally from the Republic of Ireland and being technically an ‘island’ she grew up as a child with a passion for the
oceans and love of water. She put aside her love of scuba diving
to take a ‘real job’ as an accountant and after building a successful
career with one of the top 5 blue chip accounting firms worldwide,
she decided on a career change like many of our Divemaster and
Instructor candidates. Therese has trained and dived throughout
the world and her favourite non-Utila site is the Great Barrier Reef
and she can teach a wide of variety of specialties, and also in English, Spanish and Gaelic! She co-ordinates with our environmental
projects and PADI’s Project Aware and also staffs on our ‘Instructor Development’ programs on a regular basis, which makes her
a fantastic mentor for our Divemasters in training. Anyone who
ever had the luck to take a course with her agrees that there’s no
one as happy and energetic as she is. When she’s not teaching
scuba, she enjoys spending time with her students and still playing
on the water with her rubber duck!
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15. Paperwork
requirements
1. If possible please bring with you all previous certification information (dates
of courses, instructor numbers names,
training agency name) and if you hold
any non-PADI certifications please also
bring a copy of each certification. This
will ensure prompt processing of your
Instructor application, and to start the
IDC you need to have been a certified
diver for 6 months.
2. A medical statement within the last 12
months, dated and signed by a physician, stating you are fit for diving. These
can be obtained on Utila for about $25.
3. 2 Passport sized photo’s
4. Log book with at least 60 dives for AI/
IDC and 100 to be certified as an Instructor.
5. Method of payment for the IE, PADI does
not accept cash, such as VISA/MasterCard/AMEX or USA Bank Cheque or
US Travelers Cheques. Your payment
for the course should be made prior to
the start and can be done with either
traveler’s cheques, but preferably by
bank wire into either our USA or UK
accounts. You can use credit cards on
Utila but there is an 8% surcharge for
this.
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16. Paperwork requirements...
We recommend that you purchase the IDC crewpack, which includes all materials you
need for the IDC/IE (with the exception of the E-RDPml and Table and previous course
level manuals and materials) and we can offer this at virtually cost. If you are planning
on bringing your own materials please let us know ASAP so that we can make sure you
they are the most recent and up to date versions, as standards do change.
Unlike many IDC centers we do not try to push/sell materials to candidates in order
to increase profit margins, however it is a required PADI standard worldwide that all
Instructor candidates have these materials, and are package prices include all materials required at that level. We can reduce pricing for candidates that bring their own
PADI materials.
For candidates that book online and in advance we offer a preparation program as
part of your IDC. This will include getting you completely comfortable in the water if
it’s been a while and allowing you to observe our instructors as they teach PADI Open
Water & Rescue diver classes, reviewing demonstration quality skills, rescue skills, retesting of Divemaster theory and preparation for the IDC. The earlier you can prepare
for the IDC the easier you will find the course and the more you will get from it, much
better to spend a small amount of time a day revising a few weeks before the course
than cramming it all in just before the IDC starts. If there are certain areas that you are
having problems or difficulty with please let us know in advance and we can arrange
additional remedial sessions aside from the IDC to bring you up to speed, all part of
the service.
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17. Schedule
& logistics
The IDC is scheduled to start on a Wednesday (or Saturday AM for e-learners), around
1pm (we do advise candidates to arrive 2 or 3 days earlier to begin preparation if possible), run over 11 days, and end on the Sunday (the last 2 days of the IDC, Saturday
and Sunday are held as a mock IE to completely prepare and test you for what will
happen at the PADI IE). We schedule the EFR Instructor course between the Assistant
Instructor and OWSI portions of the IDC, on the Monday and Tuesday, which is mandatory for all candidates (unless you hold an equivalent rating), as this will allow you
to offer all inclusive PADI Rescue Diver training. On the Monday after the IDC finishes
we schedule a group fun dive and you can also use this day to relax before the IE orientation is held on Tuesday afternoon with exams, and all day Wednesday. After the
IE the ‘optional’ Instructor Continuing Education programs begin right away and we
can always customize a package for individual needs and interests. During the IDC all
class-work and academic testing takes place in the mornings and after a lunch break
the afternoons are usually spent in the water developing ‘confined’ and ‘open water’
teaching skills. A typical day runs from 8am to 5pm with lunch 12pm-1pm though
our staff and facility are available from 7am-7pm for any consultation, counseling
and remedial training. You’ll have evenings where assignments need preparing but
this has been carefully managed so candidates receive no more than 2 assignments,
maximum, per evening with many evenings a little more relaxed with either no assignments or just 1 assignment.
The ability to pass an IE is a natural progression of sitting the IDC. You will have several opportunities during your IDC to practice these assignments and will do a mock IE
before the real PADI IE. We’re proud of our record at the PADI IE’s and in 2013, over
60 Divemasters in 12 different programs chose to do their IDC with Utila Dive Centre
(that’s nearly three times as many as any other facility in the Bay Islands) and everyone passed the PADI IE and we helped all those who stayed in the region find credible
employment in the dive industry, which no other facility in Honduras achieved. Whilst
it is impossible to ‘guarantee’ you’ll pass the IE our promise to you is that should you
fail the IE we will offer a 2nd IDC for free and pay for you to re-sit the IE, no gimmicks!
Utila Dive Center is one of the top PADI Career Development Centers worldwide that
set the standard for instructor training, and whilst we‘re often imitated by other dive
centers, our training, results and lifetime support are never surpassed.
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18. Schedule & logistics...
Areas in blue are where you are in the water
Areas in black are where you are in the clasrom
Areas in red are aditional sesions we schedule at UDC beyond the PADI IDC curiculum
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19. Online
pre-IDC study
For candidates who are already certified as PADI Divemaster prior to arriving on Utila
for your IDC there are 2 e-learning options that allow you to;
1) Study and pre-assess your dive theory online (saves hours of revision on Utila and
3 hours in class)
2) Study 9 of the course presentations online which can be used to save time from the
course and start 4 days later than our ‘Live delivery’ IDC with the start date on the
Saturday morning at 8am (registration Friday PM). The course will then end one week
later on the Sunday (with the mock IE) and then a day’s fun diving on Monday prior to
the IE on the Tuesday/Wednesday, allowing you to leave on the Thursday am flights.
This takes just 13 days for the complete Instructor course, EFR Instructor and 2 day
PADI Exams, and even less if you arrive on Utila already certified as a PADI Assistant
Instructor.
There is an additional charge for this each of these options, that deliver convenience
and value enhancement to the IDC, and this is paid to PADI. Please contact us for
more information to register for this option.
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20. More options
for you
As a PADI Divemaster or leadership level professional with another
organization you have several different options to begin your PADI
Instructor training. You can go directly into the full PADI IDC (11
days) or instead do the PADI Assistant Instructor course (4 days) and
at a later date complete the PADI OWSI portion (7 days) (See Instructor course info attachment for more details). At Utila Dive Centre we
prefer to keep our IDC class sizes smaller and more personal by offering more programs per year and by giving you more choice over your
path to becoming a professional. By offering up to 12 IDC’s per year
(see 2014 IDC schedule attachment) we do incur greater expenses
but we prefer to do this in order to keep our group sizes smaller and
give a better service, compared to other IDC centers worldwide that
offer just 6-8 programs a year with much bigger group sizes.
If you compare this to other dive resorts you’ll probably
find few other facilities give as many scheduling options or
flexibility. We have a maximum group size of 6 students to
1 Course Director, this is lower than the required 8:1 ratio
from PADI, why?... well we like to provide better service,
simply put after every IDC our staff meet and are constantly
reviewing how we can improve our programs, it’s this dynamic thinking that helps make you a great Instructor and
show you how ‘attitude’ is one of the most important attributes a dive professional can have.
After your IE we offer a full range of Instructor level Continuing Education programs including our PADI ‘MSDT prep’ program, ‘DAN
Instructor’, ‘PADI Sidemount Specialty Instructor’, ‘Beautiful Oceans’
Science Instructor and PADI ‘Technical Diver/Gas Blender Instructor’,
and new for 2014 IAHD Disabled Diver Instructor and IYT Dive Boat
Mate/Coxswain Instructor training.We hope this gives you an idea of
what you receive when you take your training with us in regards to
our staff, experience, facility,reputation, attitude, ambience, atmosphere and training philosophies. No one offer you so many options
with your professional training, guaranteed to advance your career
and make you succeed in the real world of the dive industry.
20

21. Global Dive Network
Bigger & Improved for 2014
Exclusive membership of the Global Dive Network
with Utila Dive Centre
We have evolved our previous referral scheme ‘Prestige card’
into a new collaboration between the top dive centers, and
destinations worldwide. Utila Dive Centre and GoPro Utila
have now formed a referral scheme with the following dive
operations worldwide and growing;
•
•
•
•
•
•
Emperor Divers, Egypt, Red Sea (5 resorts and
live- aboards)
Poseidon Divers, Dahab, Egypt, Red Sea
Buddha View, Koh Tao, Thailand
Blue Season, Bali, Indonesia
Eco-Divers, Manado, Indonesia
ProDive Cairns, Great Barrier Reef, Australia
This scheme is in addition to our local Central/South America
referral scheme ‘TrekCATS’, and all our students and divers
receive a membership card, and reduced rates (5-10%)/preferential treatment at any of these quality dive operations.
When you take your training with us you’ll receive your Global
Dive Network/TrekCATS membership card that benefits you
regionally in Central/South America and worldwide, and also
entitles you to equipment reductions in our dive store.
w w w. b u d d h av i ew - d i v i n g. co m
K o h Ta o - T h a i l a n d
Many IDC facilities and Course Directors may make claims of
job placements and networks but this can only be built after
years of established training at the highest level and no other
dive operation in the Caribbean, Honduras and Central America is committed to your success, and opportunities during and
after your time with Utila Dive Centre.
Others talk whilst Utila Dive Centre delivers!
21

22. After the
Instructor Examination
We offer all different kinds of Instructor level continuing education programs from
PADI, DAN and PADI Tec courses and closed circuit rebreather courses, ‘International
Association Handicapped Divers’ & ‘International Yacht Training’ Instructor courses.
These are scheduled to begin after the IE and we can arrange package deals as part
of a career training program, at our resort.
The dive industry is like any other in terms of competitiveness for employment and
newly qualified Instructors often find the challenge after passing their Instructor Examination is in securing suitable employment. At Utila Dive Centre our staff, with
their extensive network of contacts in the region and worldwide, will do their best to
assist you find employment with their placement service but to facilitate your chances
of gaining employment as a PADI Instructor, you can give yourself the best possible
head start by enrolling in our ‘Premium Pro Plus’ program. Our ‘Premium Pro Plus’
program includes the PADI Instructor Development Course, Emergency First Response
Instructor and Master Scuba Diver Trainer preparation program. Our ‘Premium Pro
Plus’ program will train you beyond a regular PADI ‘Open Water Scuba Instructor’
and after the IDC is completed and the examinations passed we will train you as an
‘Emergency First Response’ Instructor and a ‘Master Scuba Diver Trainer’ and allow
you to intern with our full time Instructors at the Utila Dive Centre on Utila, so what
we taught you during the IDC you will get to put into practice under the watchful eyes
of our seasoned professional staff.
22

23. After the Instructor Examination...
After you’ve celebrated becoming an Instructor we will start with the MSDT program,
this will train you in 5 PADI Specialty Instructor ratings (or special rates for more, if
desired) and no other facility or Course Director in Central America can offer such an
extensive range of continuing education programs, choose from;
(Note our top 7 preferred choices which
most centers cannot offer, that are in
demand and really set you apart and
require our specialized instruction, all
other choices can often be applied for
based on your own direct experience at
a later date);
Enriched Air
Wreck
Gas Blender Nitrox
(and Trimix)
Emergency O2 Provider
Equipment
Digital Photography
Sidemount Diver
Deep
Night
Naturalist
Search & Recovery
Dolphin Rebreather
Navigation
Videography
Diver Propulsion Vehicle
23

24. After the Instructor Examination...
We can also offer a complete range of DAN Instructor courses in addition to our MSDT
program. After the specialty Instructor training has been completed we have an optional internship (highly recommended) that no other IDC center has the resource or
daily courses scheduled to offer you, and allows you to assist our qualified and experienced Instructors on their PADI courses and you get the chance to take the ‘micro
teaching’ techniques that we taught you during the IDC and apply to actual courses
and gain real world experience. The internship will allow you to assist on at least 5
PADI courses from Open Water to Rescue and gain invaluable real world experience
and organizational and logistical skills, by the end of our internship you will have
issued up to 25 PADI certifications, and assisted on 5 different courses, and should
be able to apply for your PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer rating, also you will have
earned a valuable reference from our Career Development Center which is good for
life, wherever you travel in the world as an Instructor. Our ‘Premium Pro Plus’ program
offers exceptional value and gives you significant savings and will give you the best
training, experience and start to your professional dive career. Over the last 12 years
graduates on our ‘Premium Pro Plus‘ training program have enjoyed more success
than the average PADI instructor, have achieved higher positions in the dive industry
and earn more income than the average PADI instructor.
So what more are you waiting for, if you’d really like to get a head start, gain valuable teaching experience, issue 15-25 certifications, qualify in 5 specialty areas as an
Instructor and earn a valuable reference from one of the most awarded PADI Career
Development Centers in the world contact PADI Course Director Andy Phillips today!
DIVEMASTER
ASSISTANT
INSTRUCTOR
SPECIALTY
INSTRUCTOR
EMERGENCY FIRST RESPONSE
INSTRUCTOR
INSTRUCTOR
SPECIALTY
INSTRUCTOR
EMERGENCY FIRST RESPONSE
INSTRUCTOR
MASTER SCUBA DIVER
TRAINER
IDC STAFF
INSTRUCTOR
MASTER
INSTRUCTOR
COURSE
DIRECTOR
24

25. IAHD Adaptive Dive
Partner/Pro
IAHD-Americas are the world’s premier adaptive scuba training & certification agency with
the mission to share the magic of scuba diving with individuals with serious physical, mental and emotional disabilities, to allow them to participate in underwater activities. To accomplish this requires competent, well-trained instructors, underwater guides, and capable
dive buddies, as well as training programs, standards, guidelines, materials, and member
support, and for that reason IAHD Americas have partnered with the Utila Dive Centre, a
world renowned PADI Career Development Center to offer specific training for our PADI
Instructors who wish to train and work with disabled divers, and also offer adaptive teaching
programs for other dives and your own PADI Divemasters.
Our IAHD Dive Pro course allows PADI Instructors to train both recreational divers with disabilities and to allow certified divers to be certified to fill the key role of a certified support
diver for an IAHD-certified adaptive scuba diver and also to be a more aware, empathetic
and supportive dive buddy for divers with disabilities. PADI Instructors who qualify with us
as IAHD Dive Pros can also train and certify PADI Divemasters as IAHD Dive Partners so they
learn how to dive and plan supervisory activities with disabled divers. The IAHD Pro-Training
is a totally integrated program for Divemasters, Assistant Instructors and Instructors which
consists of two days of classroom, pool and optional open water training, candidates learn;
• The characteristics of various physical disabilities, and how they relate to scuba diving.
• To recognize and adapt to some of the unique characteristics of mental & emotional disabilities.
• How to overcome some of the problems you may encounter when training physically
disabled divers, through simulations and workshops in both confined and open water
environments.
• Proven methods for assisting those with sight impairment, hearing impairment, spinal
injuries, amputations, and other disabilities.
• How to adapt and modify normal diving equipment to the needs of the disabled diver.
• To anticipate the needs and attitudes of challenged students and to develop a foresight in
logistic awareness and considerations.
We schedule our IAHD Dive Pro/Instructor programs each month, though with very limited
spaces. The program can be offered to dive professionals with no previous experience/
certification in adaptive teaching, and the course takes 2 days and the cost of the program
is $350 (including full online access and manuals) and $100 application fee to IAHD Americas, please contact us for availability.
25

26. PADI Approved
International Yacht Training (IYT)
Dive Boat Mate
Instructor Certification
International Yacht Training Worldwide (IYT WW) in cooperation with the PADI and Utila
Dive Centre are pleased to introduce the new Dive Boat Mate and Instructor programs professionally recognized boating qualifications specifically targeted to meet the needs of
the diving industry and to develop PADI professionals maritime knowledge and skills including practical boat driving experience. The Dive boat Mate courses were introduced due to
demand from the diving industry and cover components relating to health, safety, engineering, legal and competency aspects that are required to safely operate such a boat. These
programs incorporate everything that a diveboat operator would be required to know from
the moment the boat left the dock until its safe return to port and are an amazing complement to our Divemaster and Instructor programs for dive professionals who will be working
on islands, resorts and liveaboards. The courses, while diveboat specific, contain the necessary knowledge for operators to obtain various certificates of competency (COCs) issued
by IYT Worldwide on behalf of the British Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and the
International Maritime Organisation (IMO). The MCA boating qualifications are the most
internationally recognised qualifications in the world and have, over the past ten years become the de facto world standards. N. B. These courses are by no means meant to replace
any certification or licensing that may be required (by law) in the various flag state maritime
jurisdictions worldwide.
There are currently two levels of certification that we offer at Utila Dive Centre and are
Diveboat Mate (and Instructor level) and Diveboat Coxswain. Candidates will learn a very
broad range of maritime and nautical theory and motor skills including driving boats, which
serve as a foundation to gain further experience and sea time under the direct supervision
of a licensed Captain. For candidates who arrive already certified as PADI Divemasters the
training can be integrated with our MSDT internship over 4-5 weeks, and upon meeting the
post-requisites candidates can also qualify as both Dive Boat Mates and Instructors (this is
the dive vessel equivalent of a ‘resort operations specialty’).
26

27. International Yacht Training...
The IYT/PADI Diveboat Mate is the ideal program for the entry level mariner and PADI
Divemaster/Instructor. This certification allows the holder to crew on board a dive vessel
and gain sea time and training as captain under the supervision of a Diveboat Coxswain
or higher, and we integrate this training with our PADI Divemaster and MSDT programs
at Utila Dive Centre. All candidates complete the IYT DiveBoat mate e-learning prior
to starting the course, and receive additional class sessions at Utila Dive Centre and
workshops, and during the course practical boat driving exercises are conducted under the direct supervision of our Captains, including mooring/docking. This program
is valuable for anyone wishing to work on dive vessels, super yachts, liveaboards and
the student who completes this certification will also receive the MCA (British Maritime
& Coastguard association) small Powerboat/RIB Master which certifies them to run tenders globally. Due to the time and content of this course e-learning is mandatory prior
to arriving on Utila, and approximately 4 weeks are required, and this training can be
offered independently as a stand-alone course, or with either our Divemaster or MSDT
internships (unless an individual already has maritime/nautical qualifications and seatime then a cross over can be arranged in a shorter period).
Please enquire for scheduling and specific costs and take the first step towards a nautical
qualification and maybe in the future after building seatime and experience you could
qualify as a Coxswain Captain or Master of Yachts, or might just find more employment
opportunities as a PADI/IYT Dive Boat Mate Instructor.
27

28. Recreational Closed Circuit
Rebreather Course
In September 2011 PADI (the worlds largest recreational scuba training agency released
their recreational ‘Closed Circuit Rebreather’ (CCR) or courses, and at Utila Dive Centre
we’re the only facility in the Honduras and the Caribbean/Central America to offer PADI
diver & Instructor level training in these programs. Rebreathers have grown in popularity
and use in recent years, as technological advances have brought the costs lower, and as
divers wish to extend their limits, they offer safety, and longer times in the water. Rebreathers
recycle the air that a diver breathes, so not only does this extend their air supply compared
to an open circuit diver who loses air with every exhalation, but rebreather divers have
longer no-decompression limits as they breathe a constant enriched mixture of air, and they
lose less body heat and moisture with every exhaled breath so stay warmer and hydrated
for longer. For photographer and videographers rebreathers are the tools of choice, as they
get closer to aquatic life and have more intimate interactions as the bubbles do not disturb
the creatures or scare them off.
Why are more and more divers switching to closed circuit rebreathers and why is this the
future of diving?
• Longer dive times with extended gas consumption,
and longer no decompression limits
• Less noise, no bubbles and the ability to become a
part of the aquatic realm, not just an observer, fish
and other creatures will come close to check you out!
• More enhanced photos and videos of aquatic life as
you can now get much closer to your subjects
• Stay warmer longer as less body heat is exhaled
• Divers who do not want to go tec but want the benefits
of extended times underwater
• Or a foundation for tec rebreather training
For more information on our rebreather courses please visit our website section on
rebreathers and why not get the most from your time and training with us and become a
PADI MKVI closed circuit rebreather diver/Instructor and really give yourself an edge in the
future of diving, as well as enhance your own dive experiences.
28

29. Lifestyle
of a dive pro in Utila
A typical working day in the life of an Instructor on Utila starts with a 7.30am commute
to work, cycling through the narrow streets of this traditional Caribbean island on
their way to their dive centre. The journey isn’t over yet, as they travel their way to the
islands north side by boat in order to guide a group of students on a wall dive, if lucky
they often get to stop and swim with dolphins or Whale sharks on the way.
As a dive Instructor on Utila you’ll never find a job that has so much variety, one day
you’ll be introducing a group of international backpackers to the delights of the under
water world, with the PADI Open Water diver course, and guide beginner students
through one of the most unique multi sensory experiences they can ever engage in,
trust us when we say that these are one kind of customers that will never forget you for
the work you do. At other times in your daily duties you’ll be conducting professional
dive courses, with the PADI Divemaster program, and taking ex-bankers, computer engineers, mechanics, lawyers, doctors and factory workers under your wing and
guiding them into the ranks of a dive professional and sharing your own experiences
of tropical dive resort management.
29

30. Lifestyle of a dive pro in Utila...
When it comes to lunch time rather than hiding from the rain indoors or rushing to
find something suitable to eat in the little time you have, you’ll find that in the Caribbean lunch times can be spent for hours in one of the many island cafes, catching up
with colleagues on their morning aquatic encounters whilst afternoons may involve
hammock time or teaching dive academics in the classroom to aspiring divers. In the
evening the local night spot is ‘Tranquila’ where a good beer or rum & coke can be
drank for $1 as the sun sets slowly into the sea in spectacular Caribbean style and
then as darkness sets in so does many of the islands night party venues. The Bundu
Café, Bar in the Bush and Tranquila have been known to host some of the best parties in this part of the Caribbean, with warm friendly smiles and great atmosphere.
Of course if it’s a quiet night in that you feel you deserve then there’s no better
place to relax in the evenings than Utila. Most apartments and homes have out door
balconies where you can gaze at the stars or look out to an ocean view, including
modern amenities to ensure you have the creature comforts that maybe you are
accustomed to. On days off from work you can hike the island, take a bike to the
off road tracks and end at desert beaches, swim in freshwater caves, kayak through
mangrove canals, sail in 3 person ‘Hobie Cats’ or charter a sailboat to the nearby
islands of Roatan, Cayos Cochinos or Glovers Reef, Belize.
If you talk to our team of Instructors, you’ll discover most have worked and dived in
many parts of the world, Koh Tao in Thailand, Dahab in Egypt, Costa Rica, however
nothing has impressed them as much as the friendliness and great quality of living
on Utila. The average cost of living on Utila is about $400 per month with another
$150-$250 for suitable accommodation, that’s right and is probably why most visitors to Utila call it one of the best value destinations in the Caribbean. Not only does
Utila have over 80 dive sites, with diverse conditions and life, bit there are countless
oportunities for aditional training and experience to excell you in your career. As an
active dive Instructor in a reputable facility don’t be surprised if you actually find that
you are able to save 2-3 times more a month than you actually spend. That’s why
when most dive Instructors on Utila do decide that the time has come to move on
then they have usually saved enough to head off to the next exotic location, the only
problem is where next? Hawaii, Galapagos, Thailand or Australia, well that’s one
question we’ll let you answer.
30

31. Dive Shack
only the best equiment!
We’ve partnered with the number 1
equipment suppliers on Utila, ‘DiveShack
Utila’ to offer special packages for our
trainees, retailing high quality equipment
from Cressi Sub, Aqualung, Scubapro,
Suunto and Trident. You’ll find the
prices are more favourable than most
locations though special fitting items may
be limited. We recommend you check
www.diveshackutila.com for their selection
and prices, and availability.
Not only do we have the best training programs in Central America, but we’ve also
partnered to offer you equipment from the
most comprehensive and best stocked dive
retail store.
Most employers will expect you to own
your own full set of equipment when they
are hiring you and we can offer you a
complete ‘head to toe’ set up of exceptional quality gear from $2400 including
duffle bag, please see the following link
GoPro Head to Toe package for this incredible offer, however this offer only applies to
candidates who prepay 6-8 weeks in advance and are completing their Instructor
training and MSDT with us.
31

32. Utila Dive Centre‘s
commitment
to you
Our commitment to you doesn’t end at the
Instructor Examination’s. If you are staying
on Utila looking to find work we will do
our best to help you, our staff and facility
have a high standing in the dive community of the Bay Islands and can try to find
suitable work. Whilst we can never guarantee our candidates work at Utila Dive
Centre we will assist you with a training
placement if you desire. After the Instructor Examinations you have approximately
10-14 days before you get your teaching status activated, during this time on
our MSDT internship we can mentor you
with one of our resorts experienced Instructors and you can follow, observe and
shadow them as they teach their courses
(Open Water to Divemaster), so now what
we taught you during the IDC about real
world teaching you get to put into practice, at no extra charge.
This gives you valuable experience
and a work reference from our PADI
Career Development Center and Gold
Palm Resort and will make it easier
for you to find your own Instructor
position. This is another unique advantage that we offer you at Utila
Dive Centre that other IDC facilities
are unable to offer (due to a much
lower number of Instructors and students at their school) and are often
envious of.
32

33. UDC‘s commitment to you...
With 12 dive centers and resorts on Utila and many more on Roatan, and hundreds in
the Caribbean and Central America region it doesn’t take long before a vacancy arises
and we will do our best to help you with resume preparation, placements and a reference. In 2013 we trained over 60 Instructors and helped 100% of all those who have
stayed in the local area find suitable employment and through our placement service
have also secured positions for our Instructors in the Turks/Caicos, Caymans, Costa Rica
and Panama.
We always try and encourage our candidates to gain additional qualifications as this will
better prepare them for teaching through our internship program, also this will make
you more valuable as an employee. If you plan on traveling to other dive resorts in the
world then it’s possible our Course Director and IDC Staff Instructors, through their own
experience of working all around the world, can help/advise and counsel you on teaching in differing environments and help guide you in the right direction to secure employment. In fact one of our past PADI Course Directors, was recently working as the PADI
Regional Manager for the Great Barrier Reef / Papa New Guinea area! Also our past
Videographer now works for one of the founders of Microsoft aboard his Superyacht.
As part of our commitment to you we send regular newsletters keeping you informed
of changes on Utila, but most importantly you become part of a professional
network of divers (Divemasters/Assistant Instructors/Instructors) that have
all trained at Utila Dive Centre. In addition to having our Staff who have
worldwide contacts and teaching experience we can use this network to
place you in touch with other professionals who are working all around the
world to help you find employment or simply seek advice from.
33

34. Our pledge
IE pass guaranteed!
We can never guarantee that you will pass the IDC 1st time, which would just be marketing talk, arrogance and false promises, even the most gifted of us can have an off
day! We will however advise you if you are not quite ready and should wait a little
longer before taking your Instructor Examinations. Though it doesn’t happen often if
we do advise you to wait before taking the IE then we will give you a 2nd IDC for free,
no gimmicks. If for some reason any of our candidates was to have a ‘bad day’ and
become unsuccessful at the IE first time, then our Course Directors will put their hands
in their pockets and pay for your 2nd IE.
However to date in 2013 not only did all our Instructor candidates pass
the IE but we assisted all those that stayed on Utila or in the local area
secure, credible and worthwhile employment as Instructors or guides (not
poolside sales people in all inclusive resorts), which is our real measure of
success and why you invest in your training with Utila Dive Centre.
Our Course Directors will be available for consultation during the IE and so if you’re
still now sure of the location of where you’d like to ‘GoPro’ ask yourself the following
questions?
1. Is my IDC extended beyond 7 days to a program 10-11 days in duration?
2. Do I have 2 experienced Platinum Course Directors conducting my IDC with over
.
120 IDC’s to their experience?
3. Can I get tuition in other languages, if needed?
4. Will my group size be smaller than 6 candidates?
5. Can I assist on PADI courses and dive prior to my IDC?
6. Can I dive for free if I return to my IDC facility?
7. Will my PADI Course Directors still be advising, assisting, mentoring and
helping me find employment, years after my IDC/IE is finished?
34

35. Our pledge...
8.
Is my IDC conducted in a Career Development Center and multimedia facility, with reference library and internet access?
9.
Will I have a training pool at my availability for additional skill development
and extended practice?
10. Are my Course Directors able to offer the complete system of Instructor
‘continuing education’ including Instructor courses such as Gas Blender
Instructor, Sidemount Instructor, Beautiful Oceans Science Instructor,
Rebreather Instructor, IAHD Adaptive Teaching Instructor, IYT Dive Boat Mate
Instructor and DAN Instructor?
11. After the IE do my Course Directors help me with career placements and are
they well connected in the local region and in other dive resorts around the
world?
12. Am I confident my IDC will be professional, knowledgeable, interesting, real
world and fun?
13. Have PADI recognized my IDC facility and Course Directors with certificates
of excellence and recognition?
14. Has my facility ever been voted No 1 PADI IDC center by PADI Americas and
also Sport Diver UK, the official PADI publication? (We received this recognition in 2013, 2012, 2011 and 2010!)
15. Am I being trained in a real world successful ‘Dive center’, not a franchise,
not a concession in a resort, not a contract service, but a real world PADI
Career Development Center, that trains the full spectrum of courses, from
beginner to Instructor, with specialized tec training, and ecology programs,
with experienced instructors on a daily basis, where I will learn as much from
the faculty, staff and environment as well as the curriculum?
35

36. Our pledge...
If you can answer yes to all the above then we hope that you’re able to join us in the near future for the beginning of an exciting time and start to your dive career as a PADI professional.
Remember it’s important that you feel 110% comfortable with the facility and people where you
undertake your dive training so we hope this gives you an idea of what we have to offer at Utila
Dive Centre. Unfortunately the one thing we cannot give you an idea of is the great ambience
and atmosphere that exists at Utila Dive Centre and probably one of our biggest assets
is intangible, no matter how well equipped our facility is, no building, boats, classrooms, equipments can match the care, attention, service and quality that we put into every PADI Instructor
Development Program and all the staff at our resort who works so hard to achieve this.
We’ve even created a Youtube channel and Facebook community that tries to give you a feel
for our facility, and would encourage you to take a look at these if you haven’t already, just be
aware the videos do not do UDC or Utila justice, so if you enjoy what you see, just wait till you
join us and we guarantee that whilst other centers made have the rating or title, they cannot
offer you the experience, training and facility that Utila Dive Centre can, simply unbeatable and
an education worth a million!
UTILA DIVE CENTRE
Often Imitated but Never Surpassed
36

37. Testimonials
what our students have to say about us
I did my rescue, dive master and instructor course at udc. i’ve visited a lot of different dive
centers in my life, and udc is by far the most professional one i know. just the fact that they
have a dive boat just for fun divers shows, how they really try to correspond to every ones
wishes. The instructors and all the staff are really good and also fun to have a beer with. It
doesn’t matter if you want to do a beginner course or if you want to become a professional
diver, Utila Dive Center is definitely a shop you should consider.
I really recommend it!
Pascal Coudret (Switzerland)
July 2013
pcoudret@msn.com
I’m not sure where to start but all i can say is both times I’ve been there I’ve felt like family
and come back home with a greater passion and knowledge about diving. My first visit was
in June 2012 when i did my IDC. my first few hours there on Utila i met Andy one of the Best
Course Directors ever! he quickly introduced me to Jhair, where to start with Jhair?!?!?! this
guy is amazing i may even name my kid after him :).... Jhair made me feel right at home and
took me under his wing from day 1, theory was my biggest fear mainly the physics part, Jhair
solved all of this with a simple game of tic tac toe (u need to go there yourself and ask Jhair
to teach you physics) the IDC went wonderful and along the way i made amazing long life
friends and became an instructor because of udc.
My second trip was April 2013 to do my MSDT, i was a bit disappointed when i arrived and
learnt that Jhair wasn’t there but he was in Malaysia becoming a course director (there’s
nothing this guy can’t do) Caught up with Andy who had to leave the island as well. Regardless of my previous mentors and role models not being there i have to say my MSDT was
amazing as i met 2 more persons I’d like to follow someday, Mary and Suzy were nothing
short of outstanding teachers and mentors, they treated us like family first, students second
and customers last. wreck diving, nitrox, well needed O2 provider ;) and my favorite of all
i became the youngest and only side mount instructor on my island thanks to Mary’s great
mentoring and knowledge she shared with us. On this second time around i made another
set of lifelong friends and shared great times. UDC is a great place for diving instructions, I’ll
definitely be back :) Thanks to the Entire UDC Staff and Crew, you guys are the best!!!
Ian Olivia (Belize)
April 2013
37

38. Testimonials...
My three months spent with UDC in the fall of 2012 were without a doubt the most amazing
97 days of my life. Every single instructor there is amazing. Sarah may be the nicest person
earth ( Miss You!). I went from a open water diver to an OWSI with specialty instructor ratings
in Nitrox and wreck diving, equipment and gas blending and it has change the course of my
life. I now eagerly await graduating college so I can go work as a diver instead of jumping
into the “real world.” There are many dive centers on Utila. If you want to join a community
of the smartest dive instructors, most prepared divemasters, and brilliant first time divers
chose Utila Dive Center. Oh yeah, and they know how to have a good time too.
Hallie Green (USA)
Divemaster December 2012
alternative.thinking@gmail.com
I just wanted to thank you and the rest of the staff for the experience I had UDC Everything
was so organized and thorough and the staff are so knowledgeable. Maya, my mentor, and
the other instructors were fantastic! They were wonderful at scheduling me for the skills I
needed to complete during my stay. I was even able to get in one fun dive on my last day of
diving. It was perfect! It was such a great experience that I’m strongly considering changing
my summer travel plans so I can do the IDC at UDC in July. Thanks again!
Chrissy Cappellano
Divemaster December 2012
ccappellano@optonline.net
Andy! Never got to say goodbye. Thanks again for everything. Had soooo much fun and
can’t believe the summer went by so fast. Missing the shop and everyone, missing the passion for diving and look on someones face when they step off the boat after an underwater
adventure. Tell Juice and Alan we saw maybe 60’ish lionfish on a dive in Placencia at the
Silky’s, send help! We’re up in Caye Caulker now, dived this morning with 15 or more nurse
sharks, eagle and sting rays, green turtles, the diving here is sweet, but the company’s not
the same. Keep in touch. Love you guys.
Chris Cadogan
Divemaster June/July 2012
chriscadogan@gmail.com
Dear Andy, Suzy, Mary, Dean, Maya and Maddie:
Finally I can put finger to keyboard and thank you guys again for what turned out to be an
incredible course. Not only did I learn and pass my IE but I picked up a few tips in terms of
customer service that I will be introducing here in my ‘day job’. Everything about the course
exceeded my expectations and I really felt that you put us first in everything. Thank you for
that. It is getting rare these days to actually feel that the customer comes first, you guys, all
of you, certainly achieved that. You all truly deserve the awards and praise that you have
achieved. If you are ever in the British Virgin Islands you all have a friend here.
Captain Daniel Bowditch (British Virgin Islands)
January Instructor course 2012
danielbowditch@yahoo.co.uk
38

39. Testimonials...
Georgia, thought I would drop you a line and let you know that I took your advice and just
finished up with PADI CCR Instructor rating at Utila Dive Center (UDC). Andy/staff at UDC did
an awesome job with training, organization and accommodating our dives with boats and
understanding staff. Also, I took the job at Divetech in the Caymans.
David Stover (USA)
February 2012 PADI Rebreather Instructor course
h20ski30@yahoo.com
My name is Hugo. I am writing these lines on my way to my first job as a scuba Instructor.
After an amazingly fun and rewarding 15 weeks of professional training at UTILA DIVE CENTRE, the plane is flying me to the life of my dreams . . .
UDC . . . If you plan to become a PADI Pro, it is crystal clear, for me, this multi- awarded
PADI Career Development Centre totally deserves its reputation of being the “Harvard” of
scuba diving. Top level, world class instructors, amazing infrastructures, intense real-world
interaction with the business of diving, the island of Utila as one the best dive destination in
the world, proven recruiting network (Thank you again Andy!!!!!) . . . Too many reasons that
confirms me that I made the best decision of my life by joining UDC: A Dive Centre driven by
the passion for diving, the passion for life.
To all UDC staff members; there are no words powerful enough to express all the gratitude
and respect for what you do, day after day for guys like me. Thank you for your human, personalised and friendly approach, your patience, your professionalism, your generosity and
dedication for transferring your overwhelming knowledge and love of scuba diving.
Hugo Marsolais
PADI Instructor #305758
Club Med - Turks & Caicos Scuba Team Staff Member Jan – April 2012
hugo.marsolais@sympatico.ca
Just wanted to say a BIG thank you again for everything Andy, there’s a reason you guys are
the best IDC facility in the world and it’s because of your staff. I had the best time of my life.
Jade Fishburn
IDC candidate November 2011
jadeamber90@gmail.com
39

40. Testimonials...
Going through the Divemaster training at UDC was an experience of a lifetime. UDC strikes
the perfect balance by offering instruction at the highest professional level in a lively and
fun environment. I would strongly recommend this facility to anyone wishing to gain a professional certification while having an excellent time and meeting people from all over the
world.
Elena Shishkova
Divemaster February 2011
elena.shishkova@gmail.com
First of all I want to say thanks again for everything, I really had an unforgettable experience
in Utila, and mostly because of UDC. Everything was done if a perfect and a professional way
from the first e-mail that I sent you when I was still considering to which dive center should I
go, and your immediate response did made that change, to the first step I took on the island
when a representative from UDC was waiting there to take me the Mango Inn and up until
the last second I spent on the island. I want to say special thanks to Maya which really did
above and beyond and was there always to assist. I believe that you probably know she is
a great asset for UDC but I just wanted to mention it again and say thanks one more time.
Tal Kreisler
Divemaster April 2011
tal_krz@yahoo.com
Hey Andy I just wanted to write and tell you I just finished my dive master and I can’t wait
to come back for IDC and I wanted to tell you what a great facility and staff you have it was
an amazing experience and imo Fernando was the best mentor I could have asked for I also
wanna do tech and hopefully integrate tech and instructor together! Anyways thanks again
and I can’t wait to come back.
Sincerely,
Ky Rose (UK)
June 2011
There are great dive centres that provide professional training, wonderful staff, and quality
facilities... then there is UDC – a dive centre that epitomises what a 5 Star Career Development Centre should be. Thank you to all the fabulous staff, whom I can call close friends, for
an unforgettable IDC.”
Samantha Gaghan
IDC/EFR/MSDT March 2011
samgaghan@gmail.com
40

41. Testimonials...
I am thrilled to say that I completed my Master Scuba Diver Training at Utila Dive Centre
(UDC) this year. Under the expert instruction of UDC’s staff instructors (and under the
watchful and supportive eye of Course Directors Andy Phillips, Suzy Phipps and Jules Page),
I went from being an Open Water diver to MSDT--with 10 instructor specialties, and 28
student certifications.
The staff at UDC are world class and highly professional--they really know their stuff. And
they’re a ton of fun, to boot. And because there were always lots of students being trained
at UDC at any given time, there were plenty of courses for me to assist on--first as a Dive
Master, then as an MSDT intern, and finally as an AI. Lots of dives (230+), lots of hands-on
experience with students, lots of learning, and lots of laughs!
UDC’s MSDT Internship program (run by Suzy Phipps) absolutely rocks! It was the best
way to gain confidence and real-world teaching experience as an Instructor--under the
guidance of experienced and supportive Staff Instructors (thank-you Maya, Josiah, Sarah,
Caroline, Maddy, Mary, Fernando, G, and Declan--possibly the funniest guy I’ve ever met)!
UDC has the best boats on Utila (with skilled--and hilarious--Captains), lots of great dive
equipment for students and resort divers, and a resident Equipment Specialist who keeps
everything in excellent working order (thanks G)! And then, of course, there’s the Shop
Manager, Jimmy--the man who does a phenomenal job of keeping clients and staff happy,
and the entire operation running smoothly (which is no mean feat).
And while I enjoyed Utila’s beautiful, clear, warm water and great diving--from squeezing
through narrow openings in the dark with Sidemount gear at Airport Caves, to tagging
along with Tec divers at the “vertigo inducing” CJ’s Drop Off, to diving with Eagle Rays,
Turtles, Nurse Sharks, and Dolphins--the highlight of my time on the island was swimming
10 feet above a 30+ foot Whale Shark for about 12 minutes. Now THAT was amazing!
If you’re looking for world class dive instruction, a highly professional operation, and a
good time, I couldn’t recommend UDC and their staff more!
Jason Sugar
Divemaster/Instructor/MSDT Dec 2010 to April 2011
jason.b.sugar@gmail.com
I spent some of Winter2011 on the beautiful Caribbean island of Utila, off the coast of mainland Honduras, gaining my IDC Staff Instructor certification and various specialty instructor
certifications with the incredible folks at Utila Dive Centre (UDC).
Utila lies at the far southern end of the 1,000 kilometer MesoAmerican Reef, the Western
Hemisphere’s longest barrier reef that hosts a diverse array of fishes and reef formations
linked together by complex oceanographic currents. Incredible underwater experiences were
an everyday occurrence while training and diving with UDC (can you say “Whale Shark”??!!).

The training staff is unparalleled, both in their professionalism and sense of fun! I felt like I
learned more at UDC in 3 months, than I have in 11 years of SCUBA diving!
Lynn Richardson
PADI IDC Staff Instructor #234330
lnrichardson@comcast.net
41

42. Testimonials...
Hi Andy and the UDC Crew
Having been back in the UK now for a couple of weeks and getting excited about my new
career out in the Caymans I thought I’d write to the people that helped make it happen.
I arrived on Utila with a humble Open Water qualification with the aim of taking my new
found love of the underwater world all the way through to instructor level - a daunting task
for someone of my more mature years. The whole staff made me feel so welcome and inspired me to go on to complete my training and have a wonderful unforgettable time along
the way.
I’m not quite sure how you do it but at UDC you manage to instil a great combination of encouragement and inspiration to everyone who passes through your doors, not only from your
staff but it all trickles down through the people that are there learning too, we all spurred
each other on which all led to an amazing experience.
The location was perfect to learn to dive and learn to teach with gentle currents and great
sea conditions. I can’t think of one single thing that would have made the whole experience
any better.
Thank you for a wonderful time and it is a pleasure to consider you all as friends. Enjoy the
Salva’s through the warm weather and if I am passing nearby I’ll drop in.
Darrin Meadows (UK)
darrinmeadows@googlemail.com
January 8, 2011
To: Jimmy Greene, Manager
Utila Dive Center
From: Marc Moehlman <moledog54@comcast.net>
Chairman, Visual and Performing Arts Department Ponderosa
High School President EDUHSDFA
Member State Council California Teachers Association
Dear Jimmy,
I dove more on this trip than any trip I have ever done - 31 dives in twelve days with the
Utila Dive center. I had many opportunities to audit the diver education programs that were
occurring on a daily basis at the Center.

As a professional educator with 22 years of experience, I must say that I have never found
a more professional group of instructors than at the UDC. I found your curriculum rigorous,
and your teachers friendly, approachable, and knowledgeable. All classes were conducted
in a fashion that combined the excitement of diving with the seriousness of being underwater. It was wonderful for me to have my diving passion combined with my professional
love, education. I had the opportunity to see parts of classes in all levels of certification and
I never once observed anything but the highest professionalism.
Both Dive Masters I dove with were very competent and very friendly. It was a wonderful
experience to be here, and I will be back to continue my diving education sometime in the
future.
42

43. Testimonials...
Hi Andy,
I didnt want to let too much time elapse before I got a note off to you regarding my experience at
UDC as well as some extraneous rumblings I have heard regarding comments made about the
methods or bedside manner of one or more of the instructors / course directors in relation to my
experience on Utila as well as the experience of others in the group of Divemasters in Training I
found myself part of during my time on Utila.

Obviously, with a limited time to complete the certifications; I may have had a bit different perspective on the experience, but overall I wanted to mention a few points of focus (the critical attributes of the course in fact) that I found to be helpful not only in making it a positive experience
for myself but also for the other students as well as students or fun divers I may lead in the future.
First, it should be noted that I was fairly clear when I arrived on Utila as well as having an idea
of the nature and volume of the course materials that I would need to cover. It helped to have a
long dive history and lots of in water experience. But its important to stress that when I decided to
do this; I was not buying a vacation.
The experience was intensive, fast, and furious. There was simply a very finite amount of time to
cover a great deal of material and so it became clear that there wasnt going to be the opportunity
to slough off a bit as if I had, say, until May on the island to complete the certifications. From the
moment it started with Maya in the EFR and Rescue modules, on up until I was certified, I found
the quality of the instruction and the instructors to be second to none. This is not a Ritz Carlton
package with lots of bells and whistles; and if approached with the level of attention and seriousness it requires, its simply absurd to expect to be individually coddled. Rather, when there were
things I did not understand; it was simply explained to me until it made sense. Whether somebody
interrupted me or not, whether their bedside manner was gentle or abrupt; has absolutely no
bearing on the necessity of the task at hand and I was never bothered by it, nor have I ever uttered a word of complaint about any perceived service issues during my stay on site.
Rather, I found a very tight ship run by the instructors and Frank. As a whole, the atmosphere
around UDC is very much geared towards the education, the fun diving, and beyond; in such a
way as to encourage the most consistent and safest and most ecologically sound diving practices
known in the industry. A shining example of this is the involvement in the Coral Watch program
which I found particularly interesting and informative; another is the higher standard that UDC
demands of its students. Every single instructor with no exception; even those who had no involvement in my personal instruction, were extremely knowledgeable, helpful, and above all;
consistent. Not one ever told me to ask Frank or my own instructors; not one provided information contradictory to what I was being taught, and not one hesitated in the least to encourage
me even when it was clear that I am not perfect and dont know everything. I was never snapped
at, well maybe once or twice; but I can be pretty mouthy myself; I was never treated poorly, and
never complained of being treated poorly. Frank in particular made himself available at the most
ridiculous hours for clarification of stuff I was in immediate need of grasping regarding the aforementioned dreaded subjects of Physics and Math.
And you know what? The most amazing thing happened; at the age of almost 47, I managed
to do ok in that group of young lunatics. They included me in independent study; we ate out
together, we went diving together, they invited me to their parties and I am quite sure a few will
remain lifelong friends and our paths will cross again. Additionally; its shocking how much of
the information crammed into my feeble brain is still up there and how I see how very precisely
it is practically applied in my knowledge of diving; its equipment and theory and its physics and
physiology. My experience at UDC made me an infinitely safer, better qualified, and fun diver no
Robert Becker (ProDive Travel New York USA)
Divemaster course Feb 2010
robertbecker@protravelinc.com
43

44. Reservation
details
Whilst we can normally always ‘walk-in’s’ we strongly encourage that you make
a reservation in order to begin your professional dive training with us. In order to
maintain the high quality of Instruction on our courses we do have limited group sizes and by booking in advance you can be ensured that we will have study materials
ready for when you arrive on Utila and can accommodate you at our hotel upon
your initial arrival to the island.
In order to confirm your reservation we just require a small deposit of $212 per person, his can be done by going to www.utiladivecenter.com/deposit.htm and setting
up a PayPal account. Alternatively a wire transfer ($25 transaction charge) or cash
deposit can be made into either our US or UK accounts, please see below for details:
USA ACCOUNT
Account holder: Henry M. Spurgin
Checking account #: 3250 2188 1734
ABA: 026009593
Swiftcode:BOFAUS3N
Wire transfer routing number: 121000358
Branch address: Bank of America,
31 Orinda Way, Orinda, CA94563
Tel 925 386 9908
UK ACCOUNT
Lloyds/TSB Account details
Account name: Mr A T Philips
Sort code: 77 27 09
Account number: 42670068
Swift code: LOYD GB 2L
Addres: Southgate Stret,
Gloucester, Gloucestershire
Once you have initiated your deposit please send an e-mail or contact us at Utila
Dive Centre so that we can confirm receipt, book your place on the course and reserve materials and make the reservation in our hotel if needed.
44

45. 2014 Schedule
go pro IDC/IE
COMPLETE
IDC
ONLINE
OPTION
INSTRUCTOR
EFR
EXAM
INSTRUCTOR
JANUARY
8th - 19th
11th - 19th
21st - 22nd
13th - 14th
FEBRUARY
5th - 16th
8th - 16th
18th - 19th
10th - 11th
MARCH
5th - 16th
8th - 16th
18th - 19th
APRIL
2nd - 13th
5th - 13th
MAY
7th - 18th
JUNE
MSDT
PREP.
IDC
STAFF
AI
ONLY*
OWSI
ONLY
6th - 19th
8th - 13th
15th - 19th
21st -28th
3rd - 16th
5th - 10th
12th - 16th
10th - 11th
21st - 28th
3rd - 16th
5th -10th
12th - 16th
15th - 16th
7th - 8th
18th - 25th
31st Mar 13th Apr
2nd - 7th
9th - 13th
10th - 18th
20th - 21st
12th - 13th
23rd -30th
5th - 18th
7th - 12th
14th - 18th
4th - 15th
7th - 15th
17th - 18th
9th - 10th
20th - 27th
2nd - 15th
4th - 9th
11th - 15th
JULY
2nd - 13th
5th- 13th
15th - 16th
7th - 8th
18th - 25th
30th Jun 13th Jul
2nd - 7th
9th - 13th
AUGUST
6th - 17th
9th - 17th
19th - 20th
11th - 12th
22nd - 29th
4th - 17th
6th - 11th
13th - 17th
SEPTEMBER
3rd - 14th
6th - 14th
16th - 17th
8th - 9th
19th - 26th
1st - 14th
3rd - 8th
10th - 14th
OCTOBER
1st - 12th
4th - 12th
14th - 15th
6th - 7th
17th - 24th
29th Sep 12th Oct
1st - 6th
8th - 12th
NOVEMBER
5th - 16th
8th - 16th
18th - 19th
10th - 11th
21st - 28th
3rd - 16th
5th - 10th
12th - 16th
DECEMBER
3rd - 14th
6th - 14th
16th - 17th
8th - 9th
19th - 26th
1st - 14th
3rd - 8 th
10th - 14th
24th - 31st
Every Instructor Examination (IE) is held right here on Utila
IDC= Instructor Development Course
EFR INSTRUCTOR= Emergency First Response with Care for Children Instructor
MSDT PREP= Master Scuba Diver Trainer preparation with optional internship (up to 5 course assists) with up
to 25 certifications
IDC STAFF= Instructor Development Course Staff Instructor (MSDT as prerequisite)
AI= Assistant Instructor course
OWSI= Open Water Scuba Instructor course
* e-learning starts 3 days later for AI
45