SSI Pro Development – Top Pro Training Facility Joins SSI
September 19, 2024
Bubbles Dive Centre in Malta is one of the prime Pro Training facilities in the whole EMEA region, having trained over 200 Dive Professionals in 2024 – and they just joined SSI. This center offers guided dives at Gozo’s breathtaking dive sites and a full range of dive training - from beginner to technical and professional. Their commitment to safety, small group sizes, and marine conservation has gained them a stellar reputation among the diving community. We spoke with the 3 owners, Gemma, Lee and Chris to find out the reason for their switch to SSI and to chat about their upcoming projects and passion for SSI Pro Training.
Good morning – let us start with a straightforward question: Why SSI?
Lee: Good morning! Our goal was to grow and to make sure that we remain at the forefront of Pro Training worldwide. We have been following the development of SSI closely over the past few years and to us it was clear that the agency was growing massively. Our only hesitation was over the SSI Pro Training side of things.
So what convinced you to take a leap of faith with SSI Pro development?
Gemma: Our initial conversations were held with Marco, our Area Manager and one of SSI’s International Training Directors. He has a wealth of knowledge in the industry and specifically in Pro Training. He worked for 18 years with and for our former agency, and now for 10 years with SSI. He was able to give us a lot of insights into SSI Pro Development, the real differences and the direction the industry is headed.
Lee: The final piece in the puzzle was the confirmation to us of some major upcoming changes to the SSI Pro side of the business. These will allow us to compete directly for new instructor business.
What projects do you have with SSI in the future?
Chris: In the past, Bubbles has offered technical diving training, but we were very limited by various factors. With SSI we are now able to offer the whole range of technical diving training, from beginner to professional technical diving up to hypoxic instructor, which is a great opportunity for our instructors to progress in their diving career.
Gemma: SSI’s ecology programs are also a brilliant way of getting all our customers and professionals interested and involved in our conservation projects. Their ecology programs are not only state of the art, but they are also modern, interactive and great fun.
Lee: My biggest passion is definitely Pro Training – Bubbles Dive Centre has always been an important hub for Pro Training in Europe. With our former agency, we trained over 130 Dive Professionals each year in the past. My goal is to double that number with SSI Pro Training.
What are the benefits of your switch to SSI so far?
Gemma: I was truly impressed with how many advantages there are. The online platform of SSI is definitely leading the industry – by a mile. It has multiple features that support not only our customers but also our professionals and the dive center as a whole.
Gemma: Another big advantage is the flexibility of the SSI System, both in terms of giving tailor-made course bundles to our customers and the flexibility of combining dive specialties. This allows us to create custom-made packages that fit our diver’s needs and time schedules.
Lee: The fact that SSI payments are post-paid means we can allocate the course to our customers and will receive an invoice from SSI the next month, payable in 30 days. This is beneficial to our cash flow as we can now generally get the payments from our customers before having to pay our agency anything for the training material.
Chris: Maybe the biggest advantage we are experiencing is that we now have on-site customer service and support that replies within hours, and helps us with customer service, training and projects – as we would expect from a partner agency.
Gemma: And let us not forget the post-payment of our course material – that helped us a lot with our cash flow. Our customers pay for our courses, and we pay for our course materials with SSI the next month.
What would you say to another Dive Center, if they ask you about SSI?
Gemma: I would tell them to really inform themselves about SSI. Go and talk to the SSI representative of their region to see what SSI could bring to their business.
Chris: I would tell them that SSI will save them not only money but also increase the efficiency of their business.
Lee: I would tell them to hurry up!
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