PADI: 1 M certifications/year, 80% market share. SSI requires instructors to be affiliated with an associated centre. Proliferation of specialties with little value. Compressed timelines. WRSTC sets minimum standards but application is left to each instructor.
Many divers point out that the major certifying agencies prioritize revenue over the actual safety and training of divers. Criticism is directed at the proliferation of express certifications, excessive fee charges, and commercial pressure on instructors to certify students with insufficient training. This business model is considered one of the structural problems of recreational diving.
PADI issues around one million certifications per year with an estimated market share of 80% of global recreational diving. Its franchise model allows independent instructors to operate without supervision from any dive center. SSI, by contrast, requires its instructors to work under an affiliated center, which facilitates greater quality control. Critics point out that the proliferation of specialties with limited educational value and the compressed timelines of some courses respond to commercial logic rather than pedagogical criteria. Both organizations belong to the WRSTC, but the application of standards is left to each individual instructor.