Kategorie: News
Update from 2.4.2025 - Well, who fell for it?
Okay, hand on heart: our article (see below) about the mandatory psychological aptitude tests for prospective diving instructors was of course our April Fool's joke this year.
But - and here's the exciting part: Many people apparently didn't find it that far-fetched. In the comments, there was a lot of agreement, serious discussion and a surprising number of voices that would even welcome such a measure.
What does this tell us about the diving instructor scene? Perhaps that the desire for more quality, responsibility and suitability is definitely there. Perhaps also that many of you have already experienced in practice that not everyone who has a certificate in their hand also has what it takes to train others underwater.
We would like to thank you for all your feedback - and promise to serve up a little thought-provoking lesson again next year, which may not be so far removed from reality.
Stay relaxed - and keep diving with a clear head!
Your team from Taucher.Net
Focus on challenging situations, group dynamics and stress
A new initiative is causing a stir in the international diving scene: The RSTC - the umbrella organisation for major training organisations - wants to introduce a mandatory aptitude test for all diving instructors from 2026. Every two years, active dive pros will have to prove that they can deal professionally with pressure situations, group dynamics and stress not only underwater, but also on the surface.
What sounds like an administrative act at first glance actually has a lot of substance. After all, diving instructors bear an enormous responsibility - often in exceptional situations, in foreign countries, with unknown guests. It is not uncommon for someone to have perfect skills in the water but regularly reach their limits when dealing with people.
‘We see time and again that people become diving instructors even though they were never cut out for the job. No empathy, no patience, zero team spirit - but proud of their 2000 dives. That's just not good enough any more,’ says a training manager at a large diving centre in the Mediterranean.
This is exactly where the new aptitude test comes in. And not just to ‘wave them through’, but to test specific competences. In a simulated stress situation, for example, the test asks how an instructor reacts when two students get into a fight over a good-looking diving partner. Or what happens when a drunken guest on a safari boat suddenly wants to force a dive.
But psychological pitfalls are also adressed.
For example: ‘A student is emotionally attached to you, flirts constantly, annoys the whole team - how do you react?’
Or:
‘You've been working through 11 days, you're tired, irritable, your boss wants another taster dive in the evening - do you say no or do you go through with it?’
Some test modules are even more subtle. A question like: ‘Imagine your student accidentally calls you “dad”. How does that make you feel?’
is designed to make reactions visible - even non-verbally, for example through eye-tracking in the online test. Will this be implemented? Discussions are still ongoing as to which tools are really useful - but the direction is clear: no more room for emotional blockheads with a licence.
But what happens to diving instructors who do not have the necessary qualifications?
The RSTC is planning to address this as early as the training process. In future, soft skills will also be trained and assessed more specifically during instructor training. Anyone who stands out during the course due to aggressive behaviour, a lack of reflection or a massive authority problem will no longer be waved through in future.
Of course, there will also be criticism of the planned test.
Tina B., a diving instructor in the Canary Islands, is relaxed about the whole thing:
‘Sure, it's another hurdle. But honestly - if you work for 10 weeks in a row, then have 6 students from 4 countries in your ear and have to clean up the beach at the same time in 3 Beaufort, then this is almost wellness. I think it's good that the psychological part is finally being taken seriously.’
Jens K., instructor on a safari boat in Egypt, takes a different view:
‘More tests? I started my career on my back, not on the couch. If you need an office test to see whether someone can work with people, you'd be better off training managers in Frankfurt.’
There is probably a bit of truth in both. The fact is that the requirements for diving instructors today are no longer the same as they were 20 years ago. Guests are more demanding, the social media world is unforgiving of uncertainty, and the number of ‘problem guests’ has not diminished either.
The RSTC is serious - the first mandatory tests are due to start in April 2026. Anyone who fails the test several times will temporarily lose their certification authorisation - a taboo that was previously only applied in the case of gross rule violations.
The question remains: how many diving instructors will be honest with themselves - and see this test not as a threat, but as an opportunity?
We are curious. And perhaps we should all reflect honestly: Would we be fit for the next two-week safari course with 14 guests, 3 teenagers, a stressed-out boss, a tropical storm in the forecast - and a student who believes that pressure equalisation is a political stance?