Overview
Founded in 1970, Scuba Schools International (SSI) was fueled by the passions of a few avid divers with the intent of making it possible for anyone to learn how to scuba dive. SSI is a premier education and business support company, headquartered in Fort Collins, Colorado and owned by Concept Systems International Inc.
A pioneer of professional Scuba training, SSI was the first organization to present a complete training program including full motion video, as well as pioneered some areas of diving education. SSI is now the largest school based training agency in the world. It is the only training organization in the diving industry that requires dive professionals to work with professional dive centers/resorts. This cooperation ensures “The Ultimate Dive Experience”.
In 1999, SSI merged with the National Association of Scuba Diving Schools (NASDS) and created a powerful company in the diving industry. The combination of SSI’s renowned educational products and the sales and marketing expertise of NASDS brought about a remarkable list of innovations like the requirement of open water classes for certification, the development of an equipment inspection program and risk awareness system, the development of a total dive log and recognition system, and many more.
In 2008, SSI was acquired by Doug McNeese (owner of NASDS until the merger with SSI) and Robert Stoss (Manager Scubapro and Seemann Sub) - both being icons in the dive industry for years.
In 2010, SSI is one of the few training agencies who qualified for a Global ISO Certification; 7 SSI Programs, 5 for divers and 2 for instructors, got certified after the International Standards
For the past 40 years, SSI has been known in the diving industry for providing training materials for divers of all levels. Its most common programs include SSI Open Water Diver (OWD), Advanced Open Water Diver (AOWD), more than 30 different specialty courses (like EAN Nitrox, Deep diving, Underwater navigation, night diving, and limited visibility, and many more).
A major difference between SSI and other diver education organizations like PADI, NAUI, CMAS, and others is that SSI is a retail based organization. SSI does business with more than 2.500 Dive Centers and Dive Resorts in more than 110 countries.
SSI is a founding member of the following member councils of the World Recreational Scuba Training Council - the United States RSTC, the RSTC Europe and C-Card Council (Japan). It is also a member of the European Underwater Federation.
SSI Kuwait
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Service Center East Asia & Micronesia
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Service Center USA & Canada
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SSI United Kingdom
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SSI Southern Caribbean
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SSI Adriatic Group
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SSI Andaman Coast Service Centre
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SSI Australasia
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SSI Benelux
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SSI Bulgaria
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SSI Canada
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SSI China & Taiwan
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SSI Cyprus
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SSI Eastern Caribbean |
SSI Egypt
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SSI France
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SSI Greece
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SSI Hongkong
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SSI Hungary
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SSI Iberica (Espana / Spain)
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SSI Iberica (Portugal)
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SSI Indonesia
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SSI Israel
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SSI Italy
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SSI Japan
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SSI Latin America
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SSI Levant
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SSI Maldives
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SSI New Zealand
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SSI Nordic
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SSI Philippines
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SSI Poland
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SSI Russia
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SSI Service Center EMEA
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SSI Service Center Malta
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SSI Service Center Romania
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SSI SMB Singapore
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SSI Southern Africa
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SSI Switzerland
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SSI Thailand
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SSI Thailand Bangkok
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SSI Turkey
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SSI Ukraine
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| Certification Name | Pre Requisites | Minimum Age | Required Number of Dives | Max Depth | More Info |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advanced Decompression Procedures | TechXR Decompression Procedures and Trimix Normoxic TechXR certification | 18 | 75 and 10 logged dives with compressed air, optimized Nitrox, Normoxic Trimix or which include a gradual decompression. | 180 ft | i |
| Advanced Decompression Procedures Instructor | SSI Deep Diving Instructor, SSI EAN Instructor, SSI diver Stress & Rescue Instructor, SSI navigation or wreck diving, Cavern Instructor (just one level is required), SSI Advanced Open Water Instructor, SSI TechXR Technical Foundations Instructor or equivalent, TechXR Decompression Procedures Diver or equivalency certification of 10 TechXR Technical Foundations students or equivalent | 18 | 30 logged decompression | ||
| Advanced Nitrox Diver | EANx Diver | 18 | 24 including 6 dives with Enriched Air Nitrox | ||
| Advanced Nitrox Instructor | SSI Deep Diving Instructor and SSI EAN Instructor certification of 10 divers EAN_ | 18 | 25 | ||
| Advanced Open Water Diver | OWD+ 4 specialties | 15 | 24 | ||
| Advanced Open Water Instructor | Open Water Instructor, DSRI & EANI, 2 SPI | 18 | 100 | ||
| Advanced Wreck Diver | Wreck Diver | ||||
| Altitude Diving | Open Water Diver, OWD as corequisite | 300 to 3000 meters (1000 to 10000 feet) above sea level | i | ||
| Basic Cave | Extended Range + Intro to Cave Diving | ||||
| Boat Diving | Open Water Diver, OWD as corequisite, Dive Control Specialist | 18 | 100 | ||
| Cave | Extended Range + Intro to Cave Diving or Basic Cave | ||||
| Cavern Diving | Advanced Open Water Diver | ||||
| Decompression Diver | AOWD, Deep, Nitrox and Stress / Rescue Certification, Navigation, Wreck or Cavern Diver certification (only one is required), TechXR Technical Foundations certification (or recognized equivalent) certification for administration of oxygen in emergencies (prior to the completion of the course) | 18 | 75 or TechXR Technical Foundations certification plus additional 10 logged dives Extended Range | ||
| Decompression Procedures | SSI Deep Diving Instructor, SSI EAN Instructor, SSI diver Stress & Rescue Instructor, SSI navigation or wreck diving, Cavern Instructor (just one level is required), SSI Advanced Open Water Instructor, SSI TechXR Technical Foundations Instructor or equivalent, TechXR Decompression Procedures Diver or equivalency certification of 10 TechXR Technical Foundations students or equivalent | 18 | 30 logged decompression | ||
| Deep Diving | Open Water Diver, OWD as co-requisite, or equivalent | 15 | 40m | ||
| Dive Control Specialist (Assistant Instructor) | Divemaster | ||||
| Dive Control Specialist Instructor | Advanced Open Water Instructor | 18 | 100 | ||
| Dive Guide | AOWD and Stress&Rescue | 18 | 50 | ||
| Divemaster | Dive Guide + Science Of Diving | 18 | 60 | ||
| Divemaster Trainer | Advanced Open Water Instructor + minimum 4 Specialty Instructor ratings |
David Master Diver
Not Verified
Doug A Enriched Air Nitrox
Not Verified
Dive The Rock Extended Range Instructor
Not Verified
Lucio Giovanni Palanca Enriched Air Nitrox, Advanced Open Water Diver
Not Verified
Steve Fenton Open Water Instructor
Not Verified
Joseph J Spencer Open Water Diver
Not Verified
Markoss MasPuesto Ketù Specialty Instructor
Not Verified
Robert Klein Master Instructor
Not Verified
Sebas Solans Open Water Diver, Advanced Open Water Diver
Not Verified
Guenevere Neo Open Water Diver
Not Verified
Please note, we are in no way affiliated with SSI. We have manually aggregated information about them, the certificates they offer and their contact info. For most upto date information, please visit www.divessi.com/.
I Acknowledge