Train from PADI Rescue Diver or start from Divemaster. This programme combines PADI Training with real dive centre skills and adventure based learning. Train either Full-Time or Part-Time and continue on to Instructor Training or move into other diving areas. Once you have completed your Foundation course or similar experience you can move onto our level 4 programme which will prepare you to move into the professional dive industry.
NZQA Approved
Approved programme for Student Loans and Allowances
Course Materials
Your own library of divemaster training materials and slates
Dive Career Guidance
We can help guide you into your dream dive career or help find you employment
Part-Time Options
Perfect if you are already studying or working our part-time course is run over a year
Summer School
Go Pro over summer in our 12 week intensive option
The New Zealand Certificate in Diving (Level 4)programme will fine tune your diving skills whilst introducing you to the theory behind diving. Learn about dive physics, physiology and equipment. Gain experience supervising students under the guidance of a PADI Instructor and run daily diving activities in both confined water and the ocean.
After becoming certified as a PADI Divemaster you will be authorised to:
Supervise both training and non-training activities by planning, organising and directing dives Assist a PADI Instructor during the training sessions for any PADI Diver course Conduct the PADI Skin Diver course, PADI Discover Snorkelling programme, PADI Discover Local Diving experience Conduct the PADI Scuba Review programme
Summer School 14 Weeks Full-Time Start in November ( break over Xmas and NY ) Monday to Thursday
Career Pathways
After completing your New Zealand Certificate in Diving Level 3 take a number of different career pathways. We can help guide you with where you would like to go.
Recreational Dive Industry
The recreational dive industry is all about having fun, showing people the amazing world below the surface and teaching people the skills that will turn them into a diver for life. You could work on a live-a-board boat, in a dive shop, on a cruise ship, you could travel or even live and work in a big city.
Commercial Diving and Aquaculture
With the demands of the gas and oil industry, as well as local infrastructure projects, commercial divers command good wages in an extremely challenging and diverse working environment. Aquaculture in New Zealand is also growing and there are many opportunities in the industry for qualified divers.
Scientific Diving
As more and more people become passionate about ways to conserve and manage the world’s marine resources, qualified scientific divers are becoming more sought after. Some area of science that can require a good of dive skills are marine science, freshwater ecology and hydrographic surveying.
Dive Education
Professional dive educators are needed in both the recreational dive industry and the tertiary education sector. They need to have great dive skills, an excellent level of understanding of dive theory and be good communicators. As all of the related dive sectors grow, dive educators are in demand especially here in New Zealand.
Success Stories and Testimonials
We love what we do here in Dunedin but our dive instructor graduates continue to keep our entertained and envious with their amazing adventures
"Dive Instructing is the perfect career if you want to do something you are passionate about, travel the world, meet lots of interesting people along the way and get paid to do something you love."
I have been working at Mamanuca Region of Fiji, at Subsurface Fiji which is the main dive shop that operates from Musket Cove and i lived at Plantation Island which was just a 20 minute walk away!...
I have been working at Mamanuca Region of Fiji, at Subsurface Fiji which is the main dive shop that operates from Musket Cove and i lived at Plantation Island which was just a 20 minute walk away! I was employed as a dive instructor and i was in charge of a lot of the marketing and admin for the dive center. On a typical day my day would start at 8am with a walk down to Musket Cove to check the roster and loading the boats. At 8:30 we would go out for two boat dives and the one more at 2pm. On these dives I would be either taking someone on their first ever dive, teaching courses or just showing people the amazing reef life. Finding this job was easy, it was posted on the Dive Otago job board, I applied I found out I had the job the next day and i was there within four days! Transitioning straight from study to to working life was easy, I was really well prepared! I went straight from training to work and was complimented on how professional i was which was nice. They couldn’t believe that it was my first dive job. Training in Otago's rugged conditions meant that I felt prepared for anything also the teaching at Dive Otago was really thorough so i was confident in my skills. What is special about Fiji is the culture, the location and the diving were all amazing. Getting welcomed into the fijian family was so special I had a lot of adjusting to do moving into island life but the people around me were just great.My favorite memory above water is seeing people fall in love with diving on a discover scuba session or handing them their first certification. I was also lucky enough to also train a student to be a professional divemaster which was really cool. Underwater - My favorite memory underwater was definitely my total amazement on my first dive in fiji in 32 degree water the colours and the marine life just blew my mind! Turtles are just incredible to dive with and to get paid to see them is pretty amazing.
"Keep your mind fresh because theres always something about the underwater world that is worth learning"
"As a dive instructor I have worked in both New Zealand and Australia. In my job at Jetty Dive Centre we do regular trips overseas and I have had the opportunity to dive on the SS President Coolidge ship wreck ...
As a dive instructor I have worked in both New Zealand and Australia. In my job at Jetty Dive Centre we do regular trips overseas and I have had the opportunity to dive on the SS President Coolidge ship wreck in Vanuatu and experience the ultimate Shark Diving experience in Fiji. A normal day diving starts at 7am when we get all the customers and students ready with dive gear and tanks before loading the van and heading down to the marina. Once at the marina, we load the boat (Wildfin - a 12m ridged inflatable with two 350 V8 Yamaha outboards which is very quick!) and make the short trip out to our main dive site, South Solitary Island. After a double dive it's time to head back home and clean up - a task everyone loves doing haha! After all the customers and students have been dealt with and the gear is cleaned and put away, we head back to the shop to do things like servicing regulators for the rest of the day. I love the area - there is plenty to see out at the Solitary Islands as there is a mix of tropical marine species and cold water marine species. The best thing I have seen under water was actually a Sea Lion at the Mole in Otago - AMAZING!! The second best would be diving with about 25-30 Grey Nurse Sharks - ya can't beat that. Best job on earth EVER!!! Get in to it!
Chris Zinsli
PADI Master Instructor Dunedin, Cayman Islands
"The underwater world is such a diverse place and it’s fantastic to be in such an unexplored environment which doubles as my office. Every day is a brand new adventure."
I was hooked right from my first Open Water Dive when on a working holiday in Oman in the Middle East. I was treated to crystal clear, warm water and the marine life was stunning - there was not even a chance of looking back...
I was hooked right from my first Open Water Dive when on a working holiday in Oman in the Middle East. I was treated to crystal clear, warm water and the marine life was stunning - there was not even a chance of looking back. After a dozen more dives in Oman, and a handful in Samoa, I enrolled into the February Diploma of Professional Scuba Instruction at Dive Otago and have been working and living the dream at Dive Otago ever since graduating. In 2013 I was lucky enough to dive with around 60 Bull Sharks in Fiji, an awesome adventure that tops my list of the most epic things I have ever done in my life. With the certification to not only have experiences like this, but to teach others to be able to have them for themselves is an awesome feeling. What we do changes lives! "Our local marine life here in Dunedin amazes me with its sheer abundance. Even after doing over 400 dives in Otago I still stumble across new species of animals I have never seen before. The underwater world is such a diverse place and it’s fantastic to be in such an unexplored environment which doubles as my office - every day is a brand new adventure.
After you graduate
We will help you to find work in the dive industry or go on to further training. We can put you in touch with our network of graduates all over the world, here is what a few of them are up to.
Not for the Diploma in Professional Scuba Instruction or the New Zealand Certificate in Diving level 3 Programmes. We will teach you right from the beginning, starting with basic snorkelling, skin diving and scuba skills.
Full-time programmes are usually 9am to 5pm Monday to Thursday with some days finishing earlier and some evening sessions to complete night dive training. Part-time programmes are usually held over several weekday evenings (6pm to 9pm) and a couple of weekends (8:30am - 5pm) per month and the occasional evening session to complete night dive training.
Diploma Diploma students must be 18yrs old prior to Divemaster (Term 2) to undertake this programme.
Foundation Foundation students must 16yrs old to undertake this programme.
Leadership Leadership students must be 18yrs old to undertake this programme.
Instruction Instruction students must be 18yrs old to undertake this programme.
You will be diving mostly around Dunedin and Otago. Some of the main sites include the Aramoana shipwrecks, Wellers Rock, Otakau Wall, Harington Point, Fish Reef, Moeraki and Shag Point. These are only some of the dive sites and if you are enrolled in the Diploma programme, you will likely be diving in Milford Sound - one of New Zealand’s most pristine destinations which is renowned for its underwater and above water scenery.
Yes! There are approximately 5-10 new jobs advertised EVERY DAY on the PADI website alone. These jobs are based in over 180 countries and territories around the world including New Zealand. Dive Otago also have contacts and graduates placed around the globe and offer job placement assistance at the completion of your training.
Dive Otago LTD is a delivery site for the Academy of Diving Trust.
The Academy of Diving Trust is registered and accredited as a multi-site Private Training Establishment by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) pursuant to the Education Amendment Act 1990.
NZQA 
