SDI Open Water Scuba Diver Instructor course
Some dreams don’t fade when you surface — they grow deeper.
You’ve felt it: that calm weightlessness, the quiet sound of your breath, the reef unfolding in blue beneath you. For most, it’s a moment. For you, it’s a calling. Becoming an SDI Open Water Scuba Instructor is your chance to live that calling — to share your passion, guide new divers, and build a life connected to the ocean every single day.
This is more than a qualification.
At Frontier Tech Divers, you’ll train with mentors who have lived the diving lifestyle and taught it around the world. You’ll develop the confidence, leadership, and teaching skills to turn your love for the sea into a profession that inspires others. From the first breath underwater to the spark in your students’ eyes — you’ll be the one who makes it happen.
Your adventure starts here.
Click below to begin your SDI Instructor journey and discover what it means to make your passion your purpose.
What You'll Learn
From Diver to Leader. From Explorer to Educator.
Becoming an SDI Open Water Scuba Instructor isn’t just about mastering skills — it’s about learning to inspire confidence, curiosity, and respect for the underwater world. Throughout your training with Frontier Tech Divers, you’ll gain the knowledge, experience, and teaching techniques to lead others on their first steps into diving.
Your course includes:
Professional-level dive theory and standards – Deepen your understanding of physics, physiology, dive planning, and environmental awareness.
Teaching and leadership development – Learn how to guide, mentor, and motivate students in the classroom, pool, and open water.
Skill mastery and demonstration techniques – Refine every underwater skill to instructor-level precision and presentation.
Course organisation and safety management – Gain the confidence to plan, conduct, and evaluate dive training with real-world professionalism.
Environmental stewardship and ocean awareness – Discover how to teach sustainable diving practices that protect the ecosystems we love.
Every session is designed to build not just your ability, but your identity as a dive professional — someone who empowers others to explore, protect, and fall in love with the ocean.
Course pathway and requirements
Your Journey to Becoming an SDI Open Water Scuba Instructor
Every great instructor starts as a passionate diver with a dream to do more. The SDI Instructor Development process at Frontier Tech Divers is designed to take you from skilled diver to confident educator — fully equipped to teach anywhere in the world.
Your pathway includes:
Dive Master or Equivalent Experience
You’ll begin with a solid foundation in dive leadership. If you’re already an SDI Dive Master (or hold an equivalent certification), you’re ready to take the next step. If you need to become a DM, then we can combine the course the instructor into one development programInstructor Development Course (IDC)
This is where the transformation happens. You’ll learn the art of teaching diving — from lesson planning and skill demonstrations to risk management and communication. Our experienced Instructor trainers and Course Directors will mentor you every step of the way.Instructor Evaluation (IE)
Conducted by an SDI Instructor Trainer this final assessment ensures you meet the global standard for SDI Open Water Scuba Instructors — professional, capable, and ready to teach.Certification and Beyond
Once qualified, you’ll join a worldwide network of SDI professionals, able to teach and certify new divers anywhere your fins take you. We also offer 11 different speciality instructor ratings. Contact us to find out more
Prerequisites:
- Minimum age: 18 years
- Certified SDI Dive Master (or equivalent)
- Minimum of 100 logged dives
- Current CPR, First Aid, and Oxygen Provider certifications
- Medical clearance to dive
Ready to take the next step?
Click below to begin your instructor journey — and start turning your love for diving into a lifelong adventure.
Why Train with Frontier Tech Divers
Because Experience, Passion, and Purpose Set Us Apart
At Frontier Tech Divers, we believe becoming a scuba instructor is more than earning a qualification — it’s about joining a community that lives and breathes diving. Our instructor programs are built around mentorship, adventure, and real-world experience that prepares you to teach anywhere on the planet.
What makes us different:
Real Training. Real Conditions.
We don’t just teach theory — we immerse you in authentic diving environments that reflect what you’ll face as a working instructor. From calm training sites to open-sea scenarios, you’ll graduate confident, capable, and ready for anything.Mentorship that Builds Leaders.
Our experienced Course Directors and Staff Instructors don’t just train you — they invest in you. You’ll receive personal coaching, career guidance, and insights from professionals who’ve worked and taught diving across the world.Cutting-Edge Knowledge.
As part of Frontier Tech Divers, you’ll have access to both the recreational and technical sides of diving — giving you a deeper understanding of dive science, equipment, and safety that sets you apart as an instructor.A Global Community.
Join a growing network of SDI professionals who share your passion for exploration and education. Wherever you travel, you’ll find fellow instructors who started the same journey right here.
We don’t just train instructors — we shape ambassadors of the ocean.
When you train with Frontier Tech Divers, you’re not only learning to teach diving; you’re learning to inspire the next generation to care for and connect with the sea.
Your future as a professional diver starts here.
Click below to find out when our next SDI Instructor Development Course begins — and take the first step toward a life where your passion becomes your purpose.
FAQs
A standard Instructor package in 2025 is Peso 125,000
That includes
- SDI Open water scuba instructor crewpack
- Elearning
- Online zoom classes
- 7+ days IDC including all diving, pool fees, local taxes, boats and instruction
- SDI Instructor Exam *
- Registration and first year membership with SDI *
* Our basic package includes IE and registration as standard
Popular add-ons
First Response Instructor course Peso 15000
Includes
- FRT Adult and Children Emergency care instructor
- FRT Oxygen (O2) Provider Instructor
- FRT Bloodborne Pathogens Instructor
- All training
- Registration with SDI
As much as possible we teach the hybrid IDC. This means online zoom classes for about 16 hours over a few days, then 7 to 8 days face to face. The IE takes an additional full day at a minimum
Yes, of course. We accept all major agencies ratings for additional training.
No, neither is included. However, we can assist with finding accomodation with rooms starting from Peso 700 a night
Think back to your DM class – 400m swim, 800m snorkel? How did that go? If you needed practise then, it would be a good idea to get practising again as you will be doing watemanship assessments
The 100 dive requirement should be seen as the minimum to become an instructor. If you don’t have 100 dives, it’s best to get diving and of course – LOG your dives
We take a maximum of four candidates per trainer in the water. So, if we have five candidates there will be two instructor trainers
Straight out of the IE you will be qualified to teach the following courses
- Scuba Discovery
- Scuba Review
- Open Water Scuba Diver
- Advanced Adventure Diver
- Rescue Diver
- Divemaster
- Computer Diver
To qualify to teach popluar specilialites, sign up for our speciality instructor program. We include Deep Diver Instructor, Computer Nitrox Diver Instructor, Advanced Buoyancy Control Instructor and Night Diver instructor at a great package price