Dive Bermuda is looking for local staff

TUESDAY, DEC. 18: Ever wondered what it would be like to have a job where cracking jokes and enjoying world-class scuba diving is part of the job description?

Dive Bermuda is launching a drive to get more Bermudians into the scuba diving industry whether it be just for a summer job or a more long term career option.

The announcement comes hot on the heels of a similar announcement by Fantasea Diving who are also looking for local employees to share their knowledge and love of the island with the many tourists who come here to dive. Both operations will be offering discounts on dive courses from Open Water up to Dive Master and Dive Instructor during their upcoming off seasons.

The vast majority of employees working across Bermuda’s five dive operations are hired from overseas but employees want to see that change.

Bermudian-born Chris Brown, 23, is currently an instructor at Dive Bermuda, now owned by Mark Diel who spearheaded the drive. Brown is preparing to make a number of exciting presentations across the island’s high schools to encourage locals to consider diving as a career.

“I decided I was going to be a dive instructor at the age of 12 or 13. I followed my dream and I can’t stress that enough.

“I think it stems from growing up on the wate.

“With a lot of Bermudians now-a-days, everything is focused on the land — go to school, get an education and work in an office. I always shied away from that I like being outdoors and decided diving is what I liked.

“As every young kid dreams I wanted to be a marine biologist but quickly realised that that took me out of the water and into a lab.

“Bermuda is the wreck capital of the Atlantic, but it’s not just the wrecks that keep me here in Bermuda it is the coral life.

“You can go all over the world — Jamaica, the Azores, Africa —and you see a lot of dead reef as well as the fish.

“We don’t suffer from coral bleaching, we have tons of soft and hard coral and the sea fans get really big. The brain coral looks beautiful.”

Brown will be speaking in schools primarily to youngsters aged 16 years and above.

“He will share his experience working in the industry and the great satisfaction he gets from his job. He will also talk about the benefits of the life guarding and life saving components of being a professional diver.

“I’ll be doing a lot of video and then talking about what we saw.

“I’ll talk about things like the opportunities that diving gives you. You have the ability to travel the world first and foremost. I hear from young and old Bermudians alike ‘I want to travel’ I wish I travelled more.

“If you want to explore the world becoming everything from Dive Master and upwards is a great way to do that.

“There are about 6,000 PADI ) Professional Association of Dive Instructors) stores alone world wide ranging from three employees to 100s of employees.

“The other really nice thing is if you are Bermudian, in Bermuda we are guaranteed a job over the other people.

“The underwater world surrounding Bermuda is hugely underutilised facet in terms of by Bermudians.”

“I think there are just four of us on the island — it’s a small number when you think there are five companies just here — that’s at least 15 jobs right there.

“Some of the work is seasonal but we have full time through the year.”

Brown has had the opportunity to dive in stunning locations around the world but he admits that Bermuda has its own special draw for him.

“A big part of getting into it for me was travelling the world but I quickly discovered ‘what’s the point if I can do it from the comfort of my own home?’

“We don’t have the most (numbers of ) fish but we have a huge variety of fish and our marine life is so different than anywhere else because we are the most northerly reefs so we see changes in breeding patterns and the way the fish live. Our oceans are beautiful and clean.”

Brown says that one of the highlights of his jobs is making someone’s vacation extra special and putting a smile on people’s faces.

“Bermuda needs to be more represented in that way everyone who comes here says everyone here is so friendly and diving is a great way to keep your Bermudian personality. You know, cracking jokes is part of the job description.

“Any diver can agree the best part about diving is when someone walks away and you know you have made their vacation a memorable one.

“You are also teaching people about your home and your ocean.

“Just finding out Bermuda’s actual history — what you learn in school is that Bermuda was founded in 1609 and the Sea Venture was here that is just a small portion of Bermuda’s history.

“You look at the Virginia Merchant (wreck) that sank here in 1601 before the Sea Venture and you get wrecks all over the island that have been here since the 15th century that were just passing Bermuda.

“You wouldn’t have known anything about it. You can go and explore our history through these wrecks. It’s a great way of reconnecting with history.”

It is hoped that Brown will be in the schools by February and the courses can commence in March.

For more information visit: www.bermudascuba.com and for jobs with Fantasea Diving visit: www.fantasea.bm.