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Kim van Winkel | Dive Industry Strategist

@kim.vanwinkel

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213

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Future Training, Teams & Ocean responsibility
Director | Founder SCA | CD
For owners, managers & Dive Pro's

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I am building this page for the people who care about the future of the dive industry and the conversations that actually help people succeed in this industry:

The instructor trying to build a real career.
The manager trying to keep standards high and making profit at the same time.
The owner tired of fixing the same problems.
The Course Director who knows passing is not the end.

All together we aim for the same word: "success". And for some that means a lot of money in their bank account, and for others that means emotional happiness.

Either way, success is the goal.

Real success in this industry will not come from doing more of the same. It will come from people who are willing to look honestly at what needs to change.

It needs more honest, useful, practical conversations about how we build stronger professionals and stronger dive businesses.

And exactly that, will bring you to ME!

Because the dive industry needs people who can look beyond the obvious, adapt faster, and build stronger from the inside.

And that is where I am going.
If you see it too, get on board.
Because the future is already here. by @kim.vanwinkel

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4 months ago

If you’re new here… this is what I’m about:

I’ve been in the dive industry for a long time.
Not just diving…
👉 building, training, and running within it.

And one thing became very clear to me:
❗️The dive industry isn’t broken.❗️
Most people are just not shown how it actually works.

Because this industry is not just about:
- loving the ocean
- collecting certifications
- or “living the dream”

It’s about:
- positioning
- decision-making
- understanding the business behind diving

Some instructors struggle.
Others build strong, profitable careers.

On this page, I share about:
- how to actually build a career in diving
- what most instructors are not told
- where the real opportunities are
- and where the industry is heading next taken in Amsterdam, Netherlands by @kim.vanwinkel

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6 months ago

For more than 20 years I've building, running, and growing businesses in the dive industry, developing talent, leading teams, and watching the world change at incredible speed.

Technology is changing.
Work is changing.
Expectations are changing.

And I believe the future belongs to those who are willing to stay curious and don't just adapt. You align rather than react.

Align innovation with real human needs.
Align business with long term meaning.
Align people with roles where they can truly thrive.

That's why I'm stepping into a new space, more strategic, more focused, and more future-ready.

This page is about three things:
Strategy. Innovation. People.

I don't pretend to have all answers.
Here I'll share insights, explore ideas, and conservations around building better businesses, stronger teams, and smarter ways of working. All with a foundation that stays ocean- minded and impact-driven.

Follow for updates.

Kim by @kim.vanwinkel

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9 months ago

The ocean does not care where one dive center’s territory ends.
So why should professional education?

Today I made a deal I’m genuinely excited about: connecting future dive professionals with conservation work in a completely different part of Bali.

Different reefs.
Different ecosystem.
Different lessons.
Different perspective.

Because if we want professionals who actually understand the ocean, they need to see more than the reef outside their own dive center.

Would you sign up for a professional development program that takes you beyond one reef, one operation, and one way of thinking?

Comment: One reef or a bigger professional view, which one do you choose. by @kim.vanwinkel

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2 days ago

Safety becomes very real when saying NO costs the business money.

Recent diving serious incidents in the region are hard to ignore in the news lately.
As sad as they are, they should make every owner, manager, and look inward.
Can your team stop a dive?
Change the site?
Refuse a guest?
Speak up when something feels wrong?

Or does commercial pressure quietly make those decisions for them?

Standards are important.
But a standards manual cannot make a brave decision. Your people, your team have to.

Management creates the environment in which they either can or cannot.

Ask yourself where you stand in all of this. by @kim.vanwinkel

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4 days ago

Great service is not about giving more and more away.

If it adds real value, include it.
If it costs serious time, staff or resources, price it.

Because generosity without strategy will eat your margins.

Good service does not mean giving your business away.

Be honest: where do you draw the line?
Comment “STRATEGY” and I’ll send you 5 questions to check if you’re adding value or just giving your business away.

📸 @tiffanysimonovski by @kim.vanwinkel

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16 days ago

Clarity, boundaries, shared ownership.
The last week I've been on a little business trip. Amazing feeling to be a customer again for once and not the "investor", owner".

That, together with the sad news lately about multiple scuba diver accidents in the news made me think.

"What are we all doing?!"
Everybody feels so entitled;
Customers expectations toward dive centers, dive centers expections towards diving organisations, and customers.

One thing is clear: we all love diving.
But if something happens (a bad review or even an accident), who is willing to take responsibility?

Let me tell you one thing:
Our job as leaders is not to say yes to everything.
Our job is to make the line clear.

What do we provide?
What do we expect back?
And where does their own responsibility start?
Toward all parties within the industry.

Because good leadership is not giving people everything.
It is making sure everybody knows where they stand.

If this sounds unclear to you, that could be true! Haha. I'll unpack it in the upcoming week. by @kim.vanwinkel

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8 days ago

FREE doesn't mean without value. Someone is still investing. Where do you draw that line in your business?

I believe in extra experience. I believe in mentoring.
And I happily invest in both when they make someone stronger.

But as a business strategist, I also ask you:
"Are you adding development, or repairing something that should already be there?

Supporting leadership is good leadership.
Giving away resources without understanding why is not a strategy.

Dive businesses need to become much better at knowing the differences between generosity, investment and hidden cost.

Be honest: when does "adding value" become bad business? by @kim.vanwinkel

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19 days ago

A mystery creature, Nyepi Laut preparations, and a beach clean-up with barely any debris found.

Today’s clean-up came with a little ocean surprise: a very interesting species known as the Master of Camouflage.

We also witnessed the preparations for Nyepi Laut, the beautiful ceremony that honours the ocean by giving it a full day of peace.

And the best part?
Low tide, a great team, and luckily not much waste:
1 hour. 9 people. 5–6 kg of debris collected.

I call that a Beach Clean-up Success!

When did you last participated in a beach clean-up? by @kim.vanwinkel

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23 days ago

We are blaming the instructor for problems that often started one level earlier.

If the Divemaster foundation is weak, the IDC will not be a fun ride for the candidate.

Who's to blame for it?
Well, responsibility sits with both the training organisation and the dive center.

The better question is not "who allowed it?"

It is:

How do we raise the standard?

Because better instructors start with better Divemaster training.

Course Directors, Instructors, Managers, where do you think the responsibility starts? by @kim.vanwinkel

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25 days ago

Here is the uncomfortable truth:
A Divemaster program should be much more than assisting a few courses, ticking off skills, doing stamina tests, and finishing theory online.

It should test who you are becoming as a professional.

Some people can complete a DM program and still be nowhere near ready to act like a professional.

They have the card.
But not the awareness.
Not the judgment.
Not the rescue skills.
Not the theory level.
Not the underwater control.
Not the attitude.
Not the responsibility.
That is a problem.

Because the DM level is not just another step.

It is the foundation for instructor training.
If that foundation is weak, everything after it becomes ... (fill in the blanks)😎

Tell me: how good was your DM training realy?! by @kim.vanwinkel

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a month ago

Being allowed to teach Divemasters does NOT always mean you should.

This one might annoy some people.

But I am going to say it anyway.

Divemaster training should not be treated like just another course on the list.
It is the first professional level.

A Divemaster candidate is not only learning more diving. They are starting to understand students, responsibility, teams, safety, pressure, judgment, and real dive center life.

So the person mentoring them needs to bring more than “I am allowed to teach this.”

Allowed is not always enough.

The person shaping a Divemaster should understand coaching, feedback, scoring, standards, professional attitude, etc.
Because what happens next if that DM wants to become an instructor.

That is why I believe Divemaster training should sit with people and centers that have a real instructor-development culture.

At least someone at Staff
Instructor level should be deeply involved.
Because professional development requires a different level of mentoring.
If we say the Divemaster course is the first professional level, then we need to treat it like professional development.

Should Divemaster training require higher-level instructor mentoring, or is “allowed to teach it” enough? by @kim.vanwinkel

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a month ago