For a wide range of agencies, our CertPubS® (Dive Operator) certification ensures divers are safe and ready to respond underwater.

Whether public safety divers are performing underwater rescues, searching for evidence or retrieving bodies, IPSQA’s Certificate in Public Safety (Dive Operator) provides ISO17024:2012 compliant certification giving confidence to holders, employers and the community that such high risk dive operations follow best practice. 

Graduates of this certification are able, under supervision conduct basic public safety diving tasks in static clean water environments such as around marinas, ponds and lakes to carry out non-tactical activities such as underwater rescue, body recovery or evidential search.

The Certificate in Public Safety (Dive Operator) [CertPubS®(PDO)] requires the successful completion of three parts:

  • Part A: Supervised multi-choice examination (multi-lingual)
  • Part B: Practical skills assessment – observation of public safety diver skills including role as primary diver, safety diver and tender
  • Part C: Completion of logbook requiring minimum hours and activities, including underwater rescue, body recovery and evidential searched (operations or exercises)

Part A and B tests candidates against a range of knowledge and skill requirements including:

  • Public safety dive theory
  • Incident command
  • Victim family management
  • Search procedures and methods
  • Use of specialist dive equipment
  • Evidence collection
  • Preparation of bodies for retrieval
  • Communications and signals
  • Documentation

Pre-requisites:

Candidate must hold prior to assessment:

  • A recognised advanced open water, commercial or military diver certification; plus, any additional certification required for any special equipment or environment being used.
  • No less than 75 logged and verifiable open water dives prior to assessment.
  • Dive medical clearance
  • CorePass First Aid III (Advanced)

Assessment Overview:

Part A: A standardized online exam is used as part of the assessment (Part A) and available in over 50 languages and tested under the supervision of a proctor. Accredited Testing Centres (ATCs) may also develop their own examination and subject it for moderation and approval by IPSQA (a fee applies). Some third party examinations are already approved, providing they are undertaken by a proctor under test conditions.

Part B: As an ISO17024:2023 compliant certification product, the skill assessment is undertaken by an independent assessor (by subject matter experts). The assessment is not associated with any proprietary training, allowing agencies to deliver pre-assessment training as they best determine, let it be in-house or outsourced to a provider – how candidates get ready for assessment is up to you.

Part C: The candidate must also complete a prescribed logbook within 6 months and submit to IPSQA for assessment by a different assessor (assigned by IPSQA), not domiciled in the same country as the candidate as part of our Foreign Interference Protection (FIP) protocol which is unique to IPSQA. The logbook includes evidence verified by a supervisor and referenced to dispatched incidents to ensure authenticity.

Next level: Dive Technician

Following on from the IPSQA Dive Operator certification, the Certificate in Public Safety (Dive Technician) [CertPubS®(PDT)] certifies public safety divers to operate in advanced environments such as flowing or contaminated, and lead public safety dive operations.

IPSQA also offers a range of other related certification products including:

  • IPSQA CorePass® Competent Life Jacket User
  • IPSQA CorePass® Competent Swimmer
  • IPSQA CorePass® Incident Management
  • IPSQA CorePass® Lifesaving Bronze Medallion
  • IPSQA Certificate in Public Safety (Emergency Vehicle Operator)
  • IPSQA Certificate in Public Safety (Off-Road Operator)
  • IPSQA Certificate in Public Safety (Swiftwater Technician)

IPSQA does not offer recreational SCUBA certification.

Assessments are conducted in accordance with approved references such as THE WATERS EDGE.

Contact us or your local Accredited Testing Centre for further information.

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