What’ s it like being examined for BSAC’ s highest instructional qualification? Alex‘ Woz’ Warzynski sets out a candidate’ s perspective
LEARNINGCURVE
Under pressure the road to National Instructor
What’ s it like being examined for BSAC’ s highest instructional qualification? Alex‘ Woz’ Warzynski sets out a candidate’ s perspective
With First Class completed earlier in 2025, my next logical step was to continue to National Instructor( NI). It’ s not something that you enter into lightly – the exam planned for September is really just the final part of a fairly long process to attain the expected level. For 2025, BSAC had decided to change it slightly, making the assessments for the Instructor Trainer Scheme( ITS) part of the exam‘ live’ on real events, instead of putting on simulated versions. To do this, you already have to be an ITS Coach where you develop other Instructor Trainers, a role I’ d been happily doing for several years.
There are 23 elements of an NI exam, including developing divers using a Personal Development Plan, the ITS elements, teaching at short notice, teaching Advanced Instructors how to teach, and even teaching instructors how to teach other instructors how to teach. These different levels really mess with your head and it takes a fair while to get into the‘ zone’ where you can work out at which level you need to be teaching – are you instructing a diver, coaching an instructor, or teaching an instructor trainer how to coach?
Rescue workshop in action
36 Task planning