Relation Jobseeker (Diver) and employer (Dive Center)

Ok, first of all is quite late... so sorry about the spelling mistakes and my horrible grammar.....  

I decided to create this Blog because many times I see crazy things in the diving industry and many times I simple go quite... thinking... "It is a crazy world...."

Since I created DiversJobs (one of these days I will write how DiversJobs started...) I have seen all kind of things. From Employers posting ads searching for divers to search for golf balls in lakes... to scams... abuses... fake jobs... and people that sometimes forget that Scuba Diving is a serious industry.

I know this is not a new subject, many people have posted a few times, their frustration regarding the lack of serious relation diver professional and employer. 

Working in diving is for me the best job in the world. But nothing is always gold... and working in diving brings many risks and difficult situations that diving professionals have to face and think about.  To understand this topic we have to think... what does it means to be a Diving Professional... and that question is like the chicken and egg...

Across the world we see many amazing diving instructors, with years of experience. Intelligent people that understand that you need to renew always your training and understand diving as a service and as an Education and Recreational Industry.

In a sad way, diving has become also an option for people to resources, to travel and have a great time while working. I think that is where many troubles start. The lack of unity in the diving industry.

Let me give you clear examples....

If you go to dive in Egypt you will find that the diving industry is a bazaar. People offer you courses every day cheaper and cheaper... if you don't like the price... you will always be able to go to the next dive shop and target for a better prize. The result? Many strange dive centers with dodgy equipment....  bad staff members... etc.

If you go to Koh Tao in Thailand instead, Koh Tao brings something called Koh Tao Doc. An association created by the dive centers to unify their interest, standards, and prices.

The result? A better industry. No dodgy dive centers.... (or at least smaller %) .

With the diving industry is the same, and in the diving job field there is a clear virus.... the lack of benefits and rights the diver professional suffers.

Few Dive Centers and in few countries in the world offer serious job contracts with full social benefits supported by the local labor law. USA, CANADA, AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND and the UK are some of the few where the regulations are clear and few people try to bend them.

In the rest of the world, in amazing diving destinations the flow of diving instructors is so big that the simple "Freelance work" is the daily bread in the region....

You come, you teach an open water course, you get paid and bye bye ....

Is this ideal?

Obviously no.

Is this a dive center problem/fault?

In a certain way... may be it is. But in a bigger percentage is a cultural problem, an education issue. Until the professional community (and I'm talking about divemasters and instructors) don't start  to demand contracts and clear deals the problem will continue.

People get  abuse when they allowed people to do so.

So....

what is  the solution?

Clearly, I have no idea. May be the change is from inside. may be if we understand that we can't claim legal rights if we don't eve apply and accept the local laws of the country where we are working.  And by saying this I want to finish this blog with an easy remark....

Are you searching for a job in South East Asia? Are you searching for a diving job in the Caribbean?

Are you ready to go an apply for a working visa?

May be not....

Why not?

Because it is a hassle.....

So... then when something happens, why do we keep complaining by using words as "Legal Contract" and "Legal agreements"

4:38 AM - 10/17/2005 - post comment