Diver training agency PADI Worldwide has launched an initiative designed to recognise and reward its professionals in line with their level of teaching activity and contributions to expanding the dive community.
Its PADI PRO+ Rewards programme is said to create new opportunities to earn “exclusive membership savings, achieve teaching milestones and progress toward elevated recognition through continued professional development and certification activity”.
“PADI Pros are at the heart of our mission – teaching, certifying and inspiring divers around the world,” said global brand & membership officer Kristin Valette Wirth.
“The PADI PRO+ Rewards programme is designed to recognise that contribution in a tangible way, rewarding their dedication, celebrating their achievements and giving back meaningful value that supports their continued success.”
The initiative is open to eligible PADI Professionals including Divemasters, Assistant Instructors and Instructors. They earn ‘ProPoints’ as they reach certification milestones, and the more they teach the more they earn, unlocking increasing levels of savings.
Those in the highest tiers also achieve ‘Elite Instructor’ status, with top-certifying pros earning free membership. This element is retrospective, with qualifying certifications issued during the 12 months from 1 September 2025 counting towards rewards applied to 2027 membership fees.
Members can find out more about PADI PRO+ Rewards at their site or through their Regional PADI Office.
TIME recognition for PADI
Meanwhile PADI has been named to TIME magazine’s latest TIME100 Companies Industry Leaders list as one of the 10 Most Influential Sustainability Companies of 2026.
The new shortlist is connected to the annual TIME100 Most Influential Companies list, which highlights 200 organisations the magazine considers to be shaping the future of global business.
TIME came up with the list by soliciting nominations across different sectors to put before its global network of contributors, correspondents and outside experts. Editors then evaluated each company based on impact, innovation, ambition and success.
“At a moment when reef systems are under mounting stress, PADI is helping redefine dive tourism – not just as seeing the ocean, but safeguarding it,” stated TIME.
“The world’s largest scuba-diving organisation, which has issued more than 31 million certifications since 1966 and trains roughly three-quarters of the world’s divers, is using its global network as a force for change.
“Through its Conservation Action Portal – a digital platform designed for divers, professionals and dive-centres to track conservation efforts – as well as marine-debris clean-ups, reef surveys and a new Global Shark & Ray Census launching in June, divers are feeding real-world observations into datasets that inform research and policy.
“PADI says these efforts have already helped remove more than 2.6 million pieces of debris, freed 44,062 entangled animals, contributed evidence supporting a plastic-bag ban in Vanuatu and shaped single-use plastic policies in Sydney Harbour.
“The organisation is also working directly with destinations including in Fiji, Thailand and Greece to advise on dive-tourism developments.”
The recognition comes during PADI’s 60th anniversary year. “Being recognised by TIME as an industry leader reinforces the influence of our global membership and validates our mission to create a billion Torchbearers who explore and protect the ocean,” commented PADI Worldwide president and CEO Drew Richardson.
“For six decades, our members have empowered individuals to experience the underwater world, and today that same community is driving real, scalable impact for our blue planet. This honour reflects not only where we’ve been, but where we are going.”
