 Wolfgang "Wolly" Wörner
After a well conducted Divemaster Course in Cairns, Australia, the VIP course has brought me all the important knowledge on the diving industry; teaching, equipment, sales/marketing, etc. - a solid base for my career. Immediately after my VIP Instructor course, I have found a position as diving instructor with SUB AQUA. After 3 years as instructor in the Maldives I was trusted with the position as base leader with the new SUB AQUA center Machchafushi. After a successful start of this center, I went for 7 years to Bandos Island Resort (at that point in time the biggest center in the Maldives) to manage the business.
After a total of 11 years in the Maldives I went to Thailand in 2001 to start my own business; of course with SUB AQUA as a partner. Together we have created Sub Aqua Dive Center Khao Lak. The Indian Ocean Tsunami in December 2004 has also hit Khao Lak. Its consequences have delayed or slowed down the development of the center over a short period, but have not stopped it.
Cristina Michael
 It is rare to find as a first job a position as base leader, but it was probably the additional training from the VIP Instructor Course in 1989 that made this possible. What the VIP course actually did for me first became clear in the day-to-day work. Especially the knowledge and skills from the Equipment, Biology and business modules have proven their value in the daily life of dive center management. What was missing at that time was training on compressors - such a course would have prevented many of the problems I have encountered in my career.
After many years in the Maldives as manager for the dive center in 5 different resorts, I am now back in Switzerland and work for PADI in the Instructor Development Department - www.padi.com .
 Pascal Hernikat
I finished the VIP curriculum in 1992 and then went to the Seychelles as an Instructor. After some months I got the opportunity to create a dive center for a hotel, which I then managed for a year after its completion. I then returned to Europe to work as a commercial diver and to study again to become social educator. After my study I worked for 4 year with autistic persons and persons with other psychotic disorders.
I then took up diving again and have managed dive centers in St Domingo and Egypt . Via a friend I got the opportunity to open a center in the Philippines , which worked well until the September 11 attacks in the USA reduced tourism to virtually 0. I left to manage a successful center in Khao Lak , Thailand , but there both my house and the dive center were demolished by the Tsunami from December 2004. Fortunately I was able to rescue my dive center staff.
After the Tsunami, I joined the " Eco-tourism Training Center " - www.etcth.org - as Operational Manager. We train young victims of the Tsunami in diving (dive guide), English, Management, Eco tourism and Computer skills.
 David Jackson
Whilst taking part on the VIP (then Premier) course in 1987, the job placement programme actually secured me my first job as base leader in a US Forces diving center in Germany, the interview was in a Hotel in Cannes La Bocca!. The training I received at the college proved to be excellent preparation running the full time facility and I became a PADI Staff instructor in September 1987. My career as an instructor then took me to the Caribbean with positions as a base leader, diving consultant and charter boat captain on a 23m Sloop with Summer seasons back in Germany.
At the beginning of 1991 I came back to Germany to take a position as a retail facility manager for a 5 star IDC center, I was certified as a PADI course director in 1991. In 1993 I moved to Scubapro as a sales representative and later as the Education Manager for business development in East Europe and German speaking countries, finally ending up as the Sales Manager for Germany, Austria and Eastern Europe
In 2001 I moved to Lenhardt & Wagner where I am the Sales & Marketing Manager for high pressure compressors. www.lenhardt-wagner.de
Bettina Waller
 After graduating from the VIP Instructor curriculum in 1989, the training I received made it easy to find employment as diving instructor on the Maldives . I stayed on the Maldives and worked on various islands and in various positions during 7 years. After that, I returned to Switzerland to open my own dive shop and training facility.
Dive Academy GmbH - www.diveacademy.ch - was founded in 1996. In 2003 I participated in the Course Director Training Course in Malaysia . Since then my facility expanded its services and is not only selling equipment and teaching consumer level courses, but also offers an active program for the training and continuing education of diving instructors.
 Laurent Karcher
After my VIP graduation in 1989, I did not stop learning. The aspects of underwater imaging took my interest and in 1990 I continued my personal development with a course in television production.
Since then I have been dividing my time between teaching diving as an instructor (in Geneva , Mauritius and Egypt ) and underwater imaging (as editor for a diving magazine, author of books on the underwater world and video shooting for television.
In 1995 I founded the company ScubaWin - http://www.scubawin.ch - as a company for underwater photography and video shooting. The company now also specializes in the creation of internet pages for the diving industry and the development of software for dive centers and divers.
Marc Chicano
 I completed my VIP Instructor course in 1992. After various activities during a period of 2 years, I opened my own dive center on Mallorca in Port de Soller in 1994. It took a few years to get everything running the way it should, and when everything was organized and functioning, I have looked at possibilities to expand my activities during the winter time. Mallorca is a typical summer season location.
In 1997 I started traveling the winter period to the Maldives , where I run my own Safari Boat - the Maldivian Dream. This means I since then split my activities depending the season between www.octopus-mallorca.com in the summer and www.octopus-maldives in the winter.
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