Direct training
In Sweden, the government has given the Armed Forces the responsibility to issue all professional diving certificates, including the scientific diving certificates. The Swedish Armed Forces' diving and naval medicine center (FM DNC) has issued course plans for basic professional diving certificates and for a number of special competencies. The most basic professional diving certificate required in Sweden is S 30 (or SCUBA 30, Self contained breathing apparatus 30) for SCUBA diving to 30m in accordance with the Swedish Work Environment Authority's statute for diving work AFS 2010:16. It involves about 5 weeks of training and includes part of basic training in diving and an applied part where you perform simple work underwater. You do not need to have any previous experience of diving, but you must have undergone a medical examination and have a certificate of service for professional diving (see further information under What medical examination do I need?). The S30 certificate complies with the standards issued by Internationational Diving School Association, IDSA level1.
The S30 training can be carried out by the diving schools that have been revised by the Swedish Armed Forces. At present, there are 3 diving schools that have been audited by the Swedish Armed Forces. More information about their educations and contact information can be found below
- The Swedish Armed Forces' own diving school at FM DNC in Karlskrona
- YRGO (Higher vocational education in Gothenburg) diving school in Svanesund
- Greater Stockholm Fire Department's diving school in Stockholm
After you have received your S30 certificate and you have gained documented experience of scientific diving, you can apply for a Swedish scientific diving certificate (see How do I apply for a ESD certificate?) in accordance with European Scientific Diving Panels standards which gives you the opportunity to dive at universities and research institutes in other countries in Europe.
Validation course
If you have previous good experience of scientific diving, there are alternative ways to become a scientific diver. The first way is to go a so-called validation course / knowledge check for S30. It includes a syllabus of about 80 hours, but is usually carried out concentrated on one week. This requires that you have a scuba diving certificate at least in accordance with CMAS ***, PADI Divemaster or equivalent. You must have at least 3000 min logged diving time of which at least 5 dives and a total of 60min must be deeper than 25m. 3000 min logged dive time is about 60 dives, but it is the dive time that is relevant. You must also have documented good dry suit experience, have undergone CPR training within the last three years and have undergone a medical examination and have a service certificate for professional diving. This validation / knowledge check is performed by one of the three diving schools that have been audited by the Armed Forces (see above).
International certificates and training
Another alternative is to have undergone scientific diving training or other professional dive training abroad that corresponds to the standards that are in accordance with the national professional rules set up in the country in question and that correspond to European Scientific Diving Panel standards for ESD / AESD or International Diving School Association IDSA's requirements. Then you can apply for a Swedish science diving certificate or Swedish S30 via the Swedish Armed Forces, provided you have read and can show knowledge of the Swedish work environment rules.
In many other countries in Europe, scientific diving is distinguished from other professional scuba diving partly because special skills are required to perform scientific diving and partly on insurance grounds as other occupational diving can mean higher risk-taking if you perform more complicated assignments underwater. Therefore, scientific diving in many countries has separate professional regulations and educational paths than other occupational diving. Governments in several European countries have commissioned certain universities and research institutes that have specialist competence for science diving to carry out the training for science divers in accordance with ESD / AESD standards. These training centers for science divers are audited for this assignment and follow the respective country's legislation and the rules of their work environment agency. Usually, various prior knowledge in diving is required before one can begin such a scientific diver training. Since most researchers work internationally, international courses have on some occasions been given in accordance with ESDP's standards for ESD / AESD. Then a country has been the main organizer and the participants have finally received certification from that country. In Sweden, these have also received a Swedish scientific diving certification and Swedish S30 through equivalence assessment from the Armed Forces or that one of the diving schools audited by the Armed Forces has participated in the examination.
If you are going to perform more advanced work underwater or at greater depths, further training may be required in accordance with the training steps described by FMDNC:
