Increase your marketability and make more money by becoming an Emergency First Response Instructor.
By Erika Hoffman, Business Development Manager, Emergency First Response
PADI® Divemasters and Assistant Instructors are an important asset for PADI Dive Centers in terms of getting scuba diving jobs done, but there‘s another way you can contribute, help drive revenue and attract new divers along the way: Become an Emergency First Response® (EFR®) Instructor. It’s the next step after becoming a PADI Pro, and with this credential more doors start to open.
Being able to independently teach EFR courses makes you a more valuable part of the team because, as you know, PADI Rescue Diver students need current first aid and CPR training and very few of them have this when they embark on their course. This presents the perfect opportunity for a busy dive center to assign EFR courses to you while the instructors fulfill other duties.
Not only can you hold the EFR Instructor credential, but you can also inspire Rescue Diver students to follow your lead and become PADI Divemasters (and EFR Instructors). What better way to show divers what is possible and to grow in your role as a PADI Pro mentor.
Outside the diving space, consider the size of the first aid market place. It’s huge. How many workplaces need first aiders? How many occupations require first aid credentials? How many community groups promote first aid training? Opportunities to teach are immense. For an EFR Instructor with an interest in developing a first aid training business, it only takes the motivation to do so. The credential you hold allows you the freedom to work independently within the first aid industry.
To become an EFR Instructor, you take a course from an EFR Instructor Trainer. While training is performance-based, courses tend to be about two days. EFR Instructor candidates must be at least 18 years old and have completed a EFR Primary and Secondary Care course (or qualifying training) within the past 24 months. Keep in mind that you don’t have to stop at EFR Instructor – you can go on to become an EFR Instructor Trainer too.
As you teach EFR courses to divers and nondivers, you have the opportunity to speak about your “other” job. People love to hear about diving and talking to a real-life PADI Professional suddenly makes new and continuing scuba diving adventures accessible. From a PADI Dive Center or Resort’s perspective, marketing EFR courses and using PADI Divemasters and Assistant Instructors to teach can expand course offerings and increase overall certifications.
Find an EFR Instructor course by going to the Course Finder or by contacting your local PADI Dive Center or Resort.
