2021 is the perfect year to become a PADI professional. The current situation is looking positive, and in the coming years, traveling and working as a scuba professional around the world will be possible again—so you need to be ready to seize the opportunity!
Platinum Course Director Carmelo Sgroi is organizing the new PADI IDC (Instructor Development Courses) starting in May 2021.
The main feedback we receive from our IDC candidates is that our IDC is not only taught perfectly in line with PADI standards, but it goes above and beyond those standards. The course includes extra theory sessions, water skill circuits, and training internships with the Sea Spirit management team, sharing real-world knowledge on how to best organize your new job as a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor.
Why join dive-careers at Sea Spirit Diving Resort? Check out our blog for the top 10 reasons to take your PADI IDC with Sea Spirit Diving Academy:
1. Sea Spirit is a PADI 5 Star Career Development Center. We’ve reached the highest level of professional scuba education within the PADI system. There are only 3 CDCs in Italy, making this a highly exclusive status. We don’t just prepare future instructors to pass exams — we develop professionals who will become ambassadors of the oceans, the diving lifestyle, and the PADI philosophy. We’ve received multiple awards from PADI for our exceptional contribution to the scuba industry.
2. Sea Spirit is owned by Carmelo Sgroi — an award-winning PADI Platinum Course Director with more than 15 years of experience. His passion for diving is tangible, and he shares that passion with all Divemaster and Instructor candidates.
Whether in the classroom, pool, or ocean, he’s always focused on developing your skills to help you become the best scuba instructor you can be. Carmelo is also a PADI Tec Trainer, integrating introductory technical diving concepts into the IDC to give you a deeper understanding of dive theory.
3. Career support after your IDC. Not only can you take your IDC with us, but we’ll also help you find work afterwards. Many of our instructors become part of the Sea Spirit team, gaining valuable experience in the Mediterranean Sea in a stunning environment.
4.Sea Spirit is part of the Dive Careers Network founded by PADI Platinum Course Director Mark Soworka, with a global network of dive centers training dive professionals and prioritizing our instructors for job opportunities within our centers.
There are many job possibilities, and our priority is to provide as many placements as possible to meet market demand! Sea Spirit itself has welcomed many instructors from the Dive Careers network—and vice versa.
5. We provide personalized support for every IDC candidate. Whether you need extra theory lessons or more pool time to refine your skills, we’ll be there. We tailor the IDC experience to your needs, offering enhanced learning both in and out of the water.
6. Our location: the 4-star UNAHOTEL Naxos Beach. You’ll train in a high-end environment with air-conditioned conference rooms, Wi-Fi access, an Olympic-sized pool, and direct access to the sea. We have a dedicated dive boat for open water sessions in the Isola Bella Marine Park. We handle the logistics so you can focus on the course!
7. One of the most appreciated features is our FREE PRE-IDC. Candidates may join us 1 week up to 10 days before the IDC to attend extra theory seminars, additional skill circuits, PADI ReActivate pool sessions, and search & recovery training dives.
In addition, our candidates may dive for free to get familiar with the area—or simply relax and enjoy the underwater world! Candidates can also receive early hands-on experience assisting Sea Spirit instructors with PADI courses—an invaluable head start!
8. Shared accommodation included. We offer free shared accommodation during the IDC. If you prefer a private room, we offer discounted rates.
9. Free use of SCUBAPRO equipment during the course, in case you don’t yet have your full gear set.
10. Extra PADI Specialty training included! The PADI Oxygen Provider and Marine Resource Management specialties are part of the IDC. Carmelo also integrates Specialty Instructor presentations so you can start working not only as an Open Water Scuba Instructor but also as a Specialty Instructor — a great career boost!
- Use of our HD conference room and tablets with all PADI eLearning materials
- Taormina: Sicily’s top tourist destination with stunning sea views, great food, and vibrant culture
- Cold-water training in the Mediterranean makes you a better all-round diver — we use 5 mm wetsuits, semi-dry or drysuits, and steel tanks, enhancing your buoyancy and thermal comfort skills
- Discounted gear through our partner “Acque Limpide”, the largest dive shop in Eastern Sicily
- We are one of the region’s most eco-conscious dive centers: we use glass bottles, online check-in, and organize regular Project Aware clean-up dives
- Citizen Science Hydra Project Sea Spirit collaborates with PADI, DAN, and SUEX on the Hydra Citizen Science Project—researching the physiological effects of using DPVs (underwater scooters) during dives.
This also supports marine environment monitoring, especially of the protected Posidonia Oceanica in the Isola Bella Nature Reserve, where we dive regularly under a signed monitoring protocol for 2021.
- Carmelo truly believes in what he does. He became a PADI Course Director in early 2018, reached Silver status in 2019, and Platinum status in 2020 and 2021, driven by his passion for teaching diving at a professional level. He has dedicated his life to this work and wants to pass on his energy and love for the job to every student—he believes being a dive instructor is one of the best jobs in the world!
- Over 15 years of experience in the diving industry. He has worked in dive centers in Australia, Thailand, and Italy. He founded Sea Spirit from scratch in 2012, and nine years later earned the highest PADI rating possible for a dive center: Career Development Center! Carmelo has also been teaching the updated IDC with e-learning for over a year—the future of education.
- Carmelo is a PADI Tec Trainer, which is a major advantage both in theory and in the water. He incorporates technical diving techniques, enhancing your trim, propulsion, and buoyancy control from the beginning of your career.
- With Carmelo, you can continue developing your diving skills post-IDC, as he is also a Specialty Trainer in: SUEX Advanced DPV, Streamline, Trim & Propulsion, PADI/DAN Advanced Oxygen Provider, Basic Search & Recovery Diver, Marine Resource Management
Carmelo is also a Specialty Instructor Trainer for the following PADI specialties:
Included in your PADI IDC course:
