Imported post
ooo--eer, dodgy territory this, Padi Versus .....
I've never done any PADI courses but I almost left my bsac Uni branch to go over to PADI because of certain aspects of "club mentality" and the lack of a CMAS 3* equivalent for anything except BSAC AD. Mind, that would have been going in at level to start a DM course, mostly to get the CMAS 3* in order to qualify for certain scientific dive sites.
In restrospect I wish I'd used that Govt. funded learning scheme from last year (now defunct due to too much fraud) to do the DM course, just to know more about PADI methods.
I think PADI do a reasonable job to get people into the water quickly and maintain/build up interest, BSAC have IMHO in the past been a victim of their own excessive training regime, sure its good quality training and does produce some very safety conscious divers, but so so many fall by the wayside before getting into the water.However, they seem to be trying to rectify that these days.
Having said that, my old BSAC club has never lost a trainee via fatalites, something which can't be said about the PADI training program of the biggest of our LDS's (1 instructor with 2 trainees at the Falls of Lora, not a combination I would have taken on at any salary).
If I have one criticism about Padi methods it is the use of the word Advanced in AOW :jpshakehead: The amount of times I met a student at the Freshers Fayre wanting to join the club
Me: "You a qualified diver?"
Them: "Yeah...
Advanced diver", looking pretty self satisfied (this usually having been done in Thailand or Oz
Me: "OK, we can cross you over to BSAC Club (now Ocean) diver, that's our entry level qualification"
Them: "But my card says I'm
advanced ...."

(cue whiney face pulling and hurt felings, and they say boys don't cry...

)
This somewhat false sense of achievment is a real problem, as IME it tends to breed a certain resistance to real skill development.
Just my thoughts (as Jerry Barret says)
Chee-az
Steve