Posted by MHK on June 11, 2001 at 16:32:26:
I spent this weekend with Andrew G, training director for GUE, and while it is no secret that I'm fond of GUE, I'm still amazed watching these guys in action and there utter and total dedication to raising the bar and not lowering it..
We had 10 guys in the GUE Fundamental class this weekend, several were PADI instructors, and all these people in the class showed up with good attitudes and a willingness to learn. And every one of them walked away understanding what is missing in today's training..
After this weekend I took a look at PADI's website and was surprised at some of the things that I saw but the one thing that stuck out in my mind is that they are advertising that they issue nearly 946,000 certifications a year.. Nearly 1 million a year.. The accountant in me started quickly doing the numbers:
$15 per PIC card = $14,190,000
$35 per book = 33,110,000
and then I started looking at the ancilliary revenue sources, the IE's at ~ $900 a clip, the PADI wear, the video's, the patches and on and on...
It is so clear to me that there is such a vested interest and profit motivation in this *privately held corporation*.. And while I'm not saying that someone isn't entitled to earn a living, I strongly believe that the bar is continually shrinking, the reach to get so many involved risks the integrity of quality training..
What impresses me so much about GUE is there staunch desire to simply stay small, stay unique, set the standards and raise the bar, as opposed to simply moving diver's up the ladder...
This isn't intended to be a PADI slam, although I really believe that the marketing department has taken over the show, and profits are more important than quality education.. And before the flames begin, let me say that I acknowledge that there are good PADI instructors out there, I just think that the organization structure is crumbling and if I were still a PADI member I'd be concerned...
Just some observations from a diver that would like to see the bar raised, not lowered anymore...
Later