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WE NEED YOU !!
This is the fourth year of Sail Caribbean Divers Internship Program for certified Divemasters and Assistant Instructors.
Over the last three years over thirty people have completed the internship program gaining valuable work experience within the dive industry. Some of our interns are now working here with us in the BVI. Others have gone on to work in Caymans, Thailand, and Australia.
While this is not an offer of employment or IDC placement. It is, however, a unique first hand experience with the inner workings of a PADI 5 Star Dive Center. We are the only dive center in the BVI with a resident Course Director. Mike Rowe has been in the diving industry for over 20 years and has successfully qualified over 300 instructors. Everyone dreams about it, you can be a part of it!
We are accepting two candidates into the program per month. Interested, qualified, individuals will join us for 30 days in a non-paid internship position and will be included as a trainee on our team for 5-6 days a week. The remaining time interns are free to relax and enjoy the island pace or study for further educational courses
What’s the deal? Interns participate in everything our full time staff do every day, including but not limited to:
- Seamanship training on board our fleet of four Newton Dive Boats
- Experience/training to guide divers and snorkelers
- Assisting with PADI courses
- Experience in maintaining boats and scuba equipment
- Training n scuba retail management, retail, inventory and operating a scuba Point of Sale system
What’s the catch? None that we can think of… but there are some pre-requisites.
Applicants must provide:
- Transport to/from Tortola, BVI
- Proof of professional liability insurance
- Willingness to experience and contribute to the operations of a very busy PADI dive center
- Course materials for continuing education courses (may be purchased at our facility)
- $400 deposit to secure a place in the Internship ($300 refundable on arrival)
Here is what some of our recent interns have to say about the experience...
COMMENTS FROM ANNA WEEK 2
You will rarely feel more welcome when you find yourself in a new place than when you first arrive at SCD. From the moment I stepped into the shop, and even before when they picked me up at the ferry terminal, the entire staff has been utterly amazing and welcoming. They are ready and willing to help you out or answer questions, take you to town for groceries, invite you for a night out, or even out diving on your day off. I am into my second week in my internship at SCD and have so far gotten to do far more in that short amount of time than I thought possible. I have had the opportunity to dive, map dive sites, learn how to open and run the shop on Cooper Island, tie more knots than I can name, splice line, even drive the boats. Thanks to the staff here, I felt comfortable jumping headfirst into this internship and it will be an experience I will remember for a long time to come… and it’s not even over yet. I highly recommend this program to anyone who enjoys diving and just being out on the water; my one recommendation: bring an entire carry-on full of bug spray.
You can read more about her time here and see some of the pictures she took on her blog.
COMMENTS FROM REBECCA WEEK ONE
From the minute I arrived at SCD in the BVI’s, I became one of the team. Everyone was friendly, welcoming, and happy to show me the ropes. I went out on the dive boats and worked alongside the instructors. I learned everything from how to dock the boat, to cleaning the head!!! I’ve also dived the Rhone, which was amazing. We saw sharks, rays and a turtle. I’ve also helped at the shop on Cooper Island, driven the dive boat and guided guests on a dive. Even though I’ve only been here 5 days, I’ve learned so much and feel really at home. The days are long and hard work but we have fun along the way. On my day off two of the instructors took me to a local beach for the day and showed me around town. I feel this internship is giving me the training into how the whole dive operation works, at the same time as building my confidence as a diver and a dive professional. I would thoroughly recommend this program to anyone looking to work in the dive industry.
COMMENTS FROM JOANNE WEEK FOUR
Hard to believe I have only one week left with Sail Caribbean Divers. The last three weeks have been a whirlwind of learning the ropes, literally and figuratively, of a PADI 5 Star Gold Palm IDC Resort. Spending my days leading dives, guiding snorkeling trips, preparing and shutting down (i.e., cleaning) boats, hauling and filling tanks, manning the base at Hodges Creek Marina or on Cooper Island, and taking in as much as I can from the beyond experienced staff I’ve been blessed to work with everyday has made this a fantastically comprehensive and worthwhile experience. Granted, most of my toes are permanently stubbed, my hands look like I work with razor blades, my knees have a seemingly permanent diamond imprint from kneeling on the front of the boat to hook a mooring ball, and I dream of diving nearly every night (but I consider those sweet dreams). Still, even when the days are long or the breaks are short, just the 20-minute boat ride back to base from Village Cay Marina (where we pick up cruise ship guests) or from Cooper Island, gives me a feeling of meditative peace. Watching the billowing clouds pass by, feeling the warm sun on my face as the salt dries on my now tanned skin, and remembering that I’ve done my best, learned what I could, and tomorrow is a new day.
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