Most days of a Divemaster internship at Oceans 5 Gili Air involve diving. One day you might assist an instructor with a course. On another, you might practise guiding certified divers or join a workshop focused on deep or night diving.
The weekly schedule is flexible. It depends on sea conditions, the courses and dives taking place, and each candidate’s progress. Over approximately six to eight weeks, trainees work through the performance requirements of the SSI Divemaster program while gaining experience in the daily operation of a dive centre.
Week One: Build the Foundation
The first week concentrates on dive theory, swimming exercises and skill demonstrations. Your mentor gets to know your strengths and identifies the skills you need to develop.
There is still time to enjoy the diving. Between training sessions, candidates can join suitable fun dives around the Gili Islands. These dives help you become familiar with local sites and conditions while continuing to improve your buoyancy, awareness and comfort in the water.
The aim of the first week is to prepare you for a more active role alongside the Oceans 5 team.
The Following Weeks: Learn by Doing
After the first week, candidates can begin assisting with courses under instructor supervision. At the same time, they learn the work that happens around every dive: preparing equipment, organising groups, giving briefings, debriefing divers and paying attention to students in the water.
You will also practise guiding certified divers. That means more than knowing a route. You need to consider the site, conditions and experience of the group, communicate the plan clearly and keep track of divers throughout the dive.
Other training activities may include mapping a dive site and workshops connected to deep and night diving. The exact order changes with the schedule, so skills are introduced, practised and revisited across the internship.
Our Divemaster internship overview explains the knowledge, water skills and practical experience included in the program.
A Typical Day Is Never Exactly the Same
On many days, you will be on a boat or in the water. You might start by helping the team prepare for a departure, then observe an instructor’s briefing or assist with a training dive. Later, you may discuss what happened with your mentor and work on a skill for your next dive.
Some days include pool practice, theory or a workshop. Others give you more opportunities to guide, assist or study a dive site. Scheduled time off is part of the program too.
This variety is useful preparation for professional diving. Conditions and guest needs change, and a Divemaster must learn to adapt. The Life as an Intern page gives a wider picture of training and living on Gili Air.
The Final Week: Put Your Training Together
The last week can feel like an exam. Candidates complete their final skill circuit and demonstrate their ability to plan, brief and lead guided dives. This may include a night dive and a deep dive, with activities conducted under appropriate supervision and within each candidate’s training and certification limits.
None of these tasks should come as a surprise. You will have practised the relevant skills during the preceding weeks and received feedback from your mentor. The final assessments are an opportunity to show how far your diving, communication and leadership have developed.
Completing six or eight weeks alone does not earn the rating. Candidates must successfully meet the applicable SSI knowledge, skill and performance requirements.
Finishing the Internship Together
Once a candidate has completed the course requirements, it is time to celebrate. At Oceans 5, that includes the snorkel test—a light-hearted dive-centre tradition, not an SSI Divemaster course requirement.
Candidates dress up, the team gets together for a staff dinner, games are played and drinks are served. The mentor presents the newly qualified Divemaster with their certification, marking the end of weeks of training and the start of their professional diving journey.
If you are considering the program, explore the international Divemaster internship to see how the six-to-eight-week training period works at Oceans 5 Gili Air.