Although the PADI IDC Gili Islands with Industry Award Winning Platinum PADI Course Director Holly Macleod is already one of the most popular Instructor training programs available, there are still new additional components being added all of the time and 2021 is no different.

2020 has been a strange year for professional training what with international events which are unfortunate, but it has allowed us to review, restructure and streamline a system that is already considered one of the best available within professional diving.

There will be 10 opportunities for professional Divemaster’s to join the PADI Scuba Diving Instructor Development Course (IDC) in 2021 and receive one of the best possible instructor training experiences available within today’s recreational diving industry.

The Current PADI Instructor Development Course (IDC)

Over the years the PADI Instructor Development Course (IDC) has become one of the most popular options for professional Divemaster’s seeking to take the next step and become scuba diving instructors.

The philosophy of the program has not change in the slightest and the ideology is still based around providing professional divers with a standard of Instructor training way over and above that generally seen within the recreational diving industry, and providing the necessary skills, knowledge and most of all the confidence to be highly successful within this exciting and dynamic industry.

This, along with a variety of recognition awards for the program itself, gives prospective candidates some degree of verification that the program has met and exceeded the requirements of the industry to be deemed as distinctive and exceptional in terms of pure quality.

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In January 2020 the PADI IDC Syllabus changed to include a variety of additional components and to add an online portion of the program; as many of these additions were already incorporated in Holly’s training program, she had the opportunity to assist PADI with the preliminary testing phase during the second half of 2019. As many of the features were very similar to workshops already conducted by Holly the new components of the syllabus came as no shock. PADI themselves needed to streamline the online portion in terms of accessibility and the removal of this on site theoretical aspect to the program allowed us to experiment with ways in which to deliver an even higher standard of training, if that’s even possible.

The combination of a new streamlined PADI IDC Syllabus combined with a strong knowledge of the diving industry and a wealth of direct industry experience has paved the way for an exceptional unrivalled instructor level learning experience.

What’s new for 2021 on the PADI Instructor Development Course (IDC)?

Although most of the new components were already incorporated during the early stages of 2020, PADI Course Director Holly Macleod was able to streamline the process throughout the year to create a seamless productive learning experience. So for 2021 the program will be the most up to date, advanced and most comprehensive program available within the entire recreational diving industry.

In the past the experience was always split into two distinct programs; the PADI Instructor Course and the PADI Emergency First Response Instructor Course and were conducted sequentially which actually suited the older version of the program. With the new curriculum The PADI Emergency First Response Instructor training is integrated in to the full IDC schedule and takes place approximately midway during the experience. The reason for this is two fold;

Firstly there is a new additional requirement for e learning within the PADI IDC Curriculum, which under the guidelines removes a certain portion of the program. In our case we haven’t removed it but simply refined it so once a candidates participates in the online section it is reviewed by Holly and applied to real life examples based on experiences from almost 2 decades of actual industry experience; allowing instructor candidates to further interpret and conceptualize what the online portion is really intended to achieve. The great thing is that we are able to insert Emergency First Response directly into the program at a point when we are exploring the PADI Rescue Dive Course and therefore allowing candidates to gain a full understanding of the process of identification, rescue and after care with real life experiences for clarification.

The second reason is that as PADI Course Director Holly Macleod is also a certified Dive Medic Technician through both PADI and DAN, the Emergency First Response Instructor Course (EFRI) has also been revised to include arrange of additional components which are not usually seen within the standard EFRI courses offered. This once again allows instructor candidates to fully explore these components in relation to a typical rescue and to relative real life examples. It also gives candidates the opportunity to review these components anytime afterward during the rest of the program, or once the program has finished. This way candidates will not only gain a far greater understanding of teaching Rescue Divers, but also to be better prepared themselves to manage emergency situations.

As stated above the Emergency First Response Instructor Course (EFRI) now includes a range of additional components which have been added to the program in an aim to widen the scope of traditional first aid additional components. These include purpose made tourniquet use for cases of serious bleeding, the use of adjuncts in Airway Management, additional techniques to respond more effectively to drowning and advanced resuscitation methods using a bag valve mask (BVM)/ resuscitator/ self-inflating bag or sometimes known by the proprietary name Ambu bag.

The entire program is now operated on a 21 day schedule and includes this advanced version of the PADI EFRI course, what we like to call a “rest day”/ “Review Day” or for some a “catch up” or “fun dive”” day dependant on personal requirements.

There are also a range of other additional workshops which have been added to the program and in our case we have also expanded these so as to provide a more comprehensive learning experience. The continuing education workshop allows us to focus on teaching courses from the Adventures in Diving Program, so typically we will focus on deep diving scenarios and rather than just discuss options or role playing it out, we have created an in depth interactive scenario based workshop and include the requirement for screening and assessment based conduct. The workshop has been specifically designed to incorporate real life situations that PADI Course Director Holly has encountered over the last 2 decades teaching these very programs. Candidates will be given a situation whereby they will need to screen the student, conduct the required assessment, organise the activity appropriately and actually conduct the deep dive scenario in a safe, fun and educational way.

Of course during every PADI Instructor Development Course (IDC) candidates review the PADI Standards and of course this is what we actually do. Furthermore on the PADI IDC with Holly candidates will introduced to wider scope of standards, guidelines and legislative procedure. During the program candidates will look at the World Recreational Scuba Training Council (WRSTC) and the coalition with training agencies such as PADI and its alternatives. Candidates will also explore ISO/EN/AUS national and international standards and also discover local legislative regulations. The great thing is that this provides the entire framework for new instructors to operate safely and well within the local regulatory requirements for any given location.

Another fun group based workshop which has been specifically designed by Holly is a planning based scenario. Candidates are given a worldwide location and some brief information about the conditions, operational procedures and operational logistics; it is then down to them to plan and organise a training activity around those specific situations. These are all based on actual real life places that Holly has lived and worked in, so it provides for a great discussion afterwards of what works in particular situations and what doesn’t. This particular workshop is designed to not only educate candidates, but also highlight the benefits of teamwork during problem solving and of course have fun whilst anticipating and solving problems.

Another introduction for 2021 will be a focus on both safety and the environment which is why we will include the Dive Against Debris Specialty and the Emergency Oxygen Provider Specialty Course at no extra charge should they be required. There is also a range of repeat practice sessions, individual review sessions and advisory career counselling.

How to join the program

If your genuinely interested in becoming a PADI Scuba Diving Instructor and looking to get the best possible training than the PADI IDC Indonesia is a great place to start. To find out more about the program prospective candidates can check out first hand reviews from previous instructor candidates on the PADI IDC Gili Islands TripAdvisor Page or to catch up on the latest take a look at the PADI IDC Indonesia Profile on Instagram.

For any further enquiries or to start planning your professional Instructor training experience contact Industry Leading Multiple Platinum PADI Course Director Holly Macleod directly at