The Gold Package is the complete career track. IDC + MSDT + Internship + Priority Job Network — built for candidates who don't just want a certificate, they want a profession. If you actually intend to work at a quality dive centre after the course, this is the path that gets you there.
8–10
Weeks total
5
Specialty Instructor Ratings
2
Weeks internship
∞
Alumni support
The path
Your journey in five phases.
The Gold Package isn't a loose bundle of separate courses. It's a continuously planned, eight-to-ten-week journey — with a clear sequence, fixed handovers, and a Course Director who guides you through every phase until you're actually standing on day one of your new job.
Phase 01
Pre-IDC — Preparation
2–3 weeks before course start
Personal onboarding. Review of your prerequisites, Divemaster refresh if needed, dive theory prep work, selection of your 5 Specialty Instructor ratings matched to your target market. You don't arrive unprepared — you arrive with a clear head and a firm foundation.
Phase 02
IDC + IE — Core training
10–14 days
The full Instructor Development Course including Mock IEs and the final Instructor Examination. Max 8 candidates. Taught in German, Swiss German, French or English. IE pass rate over 95%. You become a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor.
Phase 03
MSDT Prep — Market-ready
4–5 days
Five Specialty Instructor ratings of your choice. Sidemount, Deep, Nitrox, Night, Peak Performance Buoyancy, Search & Recovery, Wreck, Underwater Photography and more — matched to the market where you plan to work. On completion you're a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer.
Phase 04
Internship — Real teaching experience
2 weeks
Two weeks at a carefully selected partner dive centre. You work side-by-side with active instructors, assist on real open-water courses, run your own Specialty sessions, and clock your first teaching hours — under mentoring conditions, not exam pressure. The jump from brand-new instructor to confident teacher.
Phase 05
Placement — Priority job referrals
Ongoing
Concrete, personally made introductions to dive centres from my own network — not vague "maybe we'll send you a reference someday", but real intros with context and contact. The difference between a job board and a first-hand recommendation.
What sets Gold apart
Three things Basic and Silver can't deliver.
The IDC alone makes you an instructor. The Gold Package makes you a job-ready instructor — someone who's not just certified, but has taught, is placed, and walks into their first job with real teaching experience.
01
2-week internship
Two weeks at an active dive centre from my partner network. You teach with them, not just next to them. You clock real teaching hours before day one of your first job — and don't walk in blank to your first real course.
02
Priority job referrals
Direct introductions to dive centres I personally know and trust — from the Maldives to Egypt, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and the Mediterranean. Not an anonymous application — a recommendation with context.
03
Lifetime alumni support
The channel stays open after the course. WhatsApp questions about tricky student situations, advice on contract negotiations, recommendations for advanced courses, a warm line when career decisions arise. A Course Director for the long run.
The alumni network
A global dive-professional network.
Three decades of dive instruction means three decades of relationships. My graduates today work at over a hundred dive bases worldwide — on liveaboards, in top resorts, as freelance instructors, and as staff at some of the most respected dive centres in the world. If you pick Gold, you plug into that network.
Southeast Asia
Philippines (Dauin, Cebu, Palawan), Thailand (Koh Tao, Phi Phi, Similan), Indonesia (Bali, Raja Ampat, Komodo), Malaysia (Sipadan, Perhentians).
Maldives
Liveaboards and resort-based positions on selected atolls — including high-end resorts with dive-staff rotation.
Red Sea
Egypt (Hurghada, Marsa Alam, Sharm) and Sudan — year-round active market with high demand for multilingual instructors.
Mediterranean & Europe
Malta, Gozo, Croatia, Spain, France, Greece — seasonal positions and year-round full-time roles.
Caribbean & Central America
Roatán, Utila, Cozumel, Bahamas — selected partners with employment conditions Europeans can accept.
Comparison
What's actually inside?
Direct comparison of the three tier options. The actual IDC training is identical across all three — the difference lies in what happens before, around, and after the IDC.
Deliverable
Basic
Silver
Gold
IDC + IE
✓
✓
✓
Personal pre-IDC onboarding
—
✓
✓
MSDT + 5 Specialty Instructor Ratings
—
✓
✓
On-site accommodation (Dauin)
—
✓
✓
2-week internship
—
—
✓
Priority job referrals
—
—
✓
Alumni support
—
6 months
Lifetime
Who it's for
Who the Gold Package is really for.
Gold isn't the right choice for everyone. For some, Basic or Silver is the better fit. Here's an honest take on when Gold makes sense — and when it doesn't.
✓
You actually want to work as an instructor — not just the certificate for occasional co-teaching at your home club.
✓
You're planning a career switch or sabbatical — and have 8–10 weeks available for the full programme.
✓
You want to work internationally — Southeast Asia, Maldives, Red Sea, Caribbean. Gold opens these markets through recommendations, not blind applications.
✓
You value real teaching experience before your first job — rather than walking in as a brand-new instructor with no hours.
—
If you only need the instructor certificate and already have secure employment lined up — Basic or Silver is enough.
—
If you're time-limited and can only invest 2–3 weeks — start with Basic and extend later.
Gold Package — Next step
Ready for the full path?
Get the free Info Pack with a full Gold Package breakdown: pricing, timeline, internship partners, alumni references, and contact options. Then we'll talk in person, so we're both confident Gold is the right fit for your path.