Careers - Health and Safety Advice
Approved qualifications
Under the DWR, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) approves diving qualifications it considers suitable for ensuring the adequate competence of divers. Divers must hold an appropriate qualification for the class of diving required in a diving project. To access a list of HSE approved diving qualifications please see the full HSE page.
What is diving at work?
Diving is the means of getting to and from a worksite and carrying out tasks. These tasks may be part of a wide range of industry from civil engineering to archaeology. Potential working divers should ideally already possess the technical skills that are relevant to the job. For example, construction workers may require welding qualifications, while divers involved in an archaeology project may require a degree in archaeology. You need to have both the diving skills and work skills that employers want.
Career options
There are different types of working divers, each demanding different skills and competencies. These include:
- Offshore Diving in support of the offshore oil and gas industries. Usually it is contract based and seasonal.
- Inland / Inshore Diving, for example, in support of civil engineering or marine-related projects and fish farming.
- Scientific and Archaeological Diving in support of scientific research and education, and archaeological investigation of sites of historic interest.
- Media diving in support of film or TV productions which require divers to work as stunt performers, journalists, presenters, photographers, camera operators, sound and lighting technicians, and unit crews.
- Recreational Diving involving the instruction and guiding of recreational divers.
- Police and Armed Forces. These divers are specialists who are chosen from personnel already in the service.
How to become qualified as a working diver in Great Britain
In order to become a working diver in Gt Britain you must obtain a qualification approved by HSE that is relevant to and sufficient for the work to be undertaken.
Unless you already hold one of the approved qualifications, you will need to have your competence assessed by an organisation recognised by HSE. This will include training, if required (a list of assessors is available from HSE).
Diving is physically and mentally demanding. Some potential divers drop out of the training because they find they are not suited to working underwater. Good health is absolutely essential. At the earliest possible stage you should consider completing an initial medical questionnaire to see if there is anything in your medical history that might preclude you from a career in diving.
Please see Are you medically fit?
Commercial diving competencies
HSE has introduced four assessment standards of commercial diving competence: SCUBA Diving, Surface Supplied Diving, Surface Supplied Top Up Diving and Closed Bell Diving.
- SCUBA stands for Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus where the air supply is in cylinders worn by the diver.
- Surface supplied divers receive their air supply via an umbilical (hose) from the surface.
- In order to dive on surface supplied equipment, offshore divers must also undertake a Surface Supplied Diving (Top Up) assessment.
- Closed bell divers use mixed gas in order to dive deeper than 50 metres. They can spend up to 28 days working (and living) in a compression chamber complex transferring to the work site in a diving bell.
- To be eligible for a Closed Bell Diving qualification a diver must have one year’s experience diving offshore using surface supplied diving equipment and techniques.
If a person fails to reach the required competence a diver assessment organisation will refuse to award the qualification. If this happens the person can appeal within 28 days for a review of the decision using the assessment organisation’s appeals procedure.