Overview

Enter the global scuba diving industry with a professional diving qualification combined with work experience and marine conservation training AND get career training from Conservation Careers!

Boost your professional diving or marine conservation career when you join an internship in the stunning Seychelles. Get your PADI Divemaster qualification and marine ecosystem training, then put those skills to good use when you participate in vital marine research expeditions. Sign up here today and get 12 months of Lion membership with Conservation Careers included.

Overview

Travel to the beautiful Seychelles islands in the Indian Ocean where you will train to improve your scuba diving skills while participating on our Marine Conservation Expedition, conducting vital marine research.

On successful completion of the first half of your internship, you will be placed at a local dive centre undertaking your PADI Divemaster course that will continue throughout the duration of 12 week work placement. During this time you can expand your knowledge of marine conservation and help with general day-to-day operations of the centre.

This internship is the perfect opportunity to enter the world of professional diving and / or marine conservation while living and working in a pristine environment to complete what will be a life changing experience.

After a successful internship, qualifying candidates may be given the opportunity to work for us or selected partner organisations in the Seychelles, or in other countries around the world where we operate. Field work positions can be paid or unpaid, range in duration from one month to one year, and availability varies.

All internships are geared at developing your leadership and role model skills, allowing you to develop a variety of key soft and hard skills that will put you a step ahead the rest of the pack. We have been running community development, education, and conservation projects since 1997 and our highly experienced field staff will help you gain and improve vital skill sets to improve your future job prospects.

Scuba Diving Requirements

You will spend the majority of your time on this internship scuba diving and as such you need to be qualified to at least PADI Open Water, or equivalent before you start the internship. We will supply you with all the training you need to be certified up to PADI Divemaster as well as with additional diving courses.
Testimonial

“Would I recommend it? I most certainly would, even if all you are after is a break from the monotonous 9-5 office job, or one of the stops on a gap year round the world, it is an experience to not only learn something about the natural world, but it is also an amazing place to be able to learn something more about yourself.” – Philip Summerton (United Kingdom)

Our Award-winning Partner

Conservation Careers has teamed up with an award-winning, mission-driven organisation with a team of passionate experts across the globe who will make your experience a truly unforgettable one.

Founded in 1998, they run programs in 21 locations, in 13 countries around the world, each aligned to the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as well as the objectives of local partners. They welcome participants from all around the world and help facilitate their development into global citizens. This is how they achieve their mission of building a global network of people united by their passion to make a difference.

Their commitment to running high-quality sustainable development and experiential education programs has earned them recognition from numerous organizations such as Panthera, the Seychelles Parks & Gardens Authority, as well as Stanford, NYU, Duke, and Ohio State.

If you register your interest below, you’ll put you in touch with our partner to take the booking and to plan your trip!

To see all our Conservation Careers Internship opportunities, please click here.

About Mahe and Curieuse

Life on the Internship

Your First 12 Weeks

During your expedition phase expect working days to long and starting early in the morning. Diving days will begin with preparing the dive boat, followed by a short journey to one of the research dive sites. Depending on weather conditions, we aim for everyone to have 1 or 2 dives/snorkels a day, 5 days a week, during which you will conduct underwater surveys after completion of your training.

On other days, you should expect to be involved in additional projects and activities, including training sessions, beach cleans, marine debris surveys, environmental education sessions with the local community depending on local and project needs at the time. The days are rounded off with an evening debrief, followed by dinner and time to relax, take in the beautiful sunset and share stories.

Work Placements

On your work placement, your situation will vary depending on location, but you will continue to spend the majority of your days diving in the crystal clear waters perfecting your diving skills, while learning to work within the diving community.

Accommodation

During your expedition phase you will be living on our research base in the stunning Seychelles. Living conditions will be very basic as we aim to leave as small of a footprint as possible on the environment.

Accommodation at the work placements vary, but all offer basic to comfortable accommodation for their staff.

Project Details

The expedition phase works in conjunction with several local non-governmental organisations as well as the Seychelles National Parks Authority and is working on the following priorities:

• • Coral reef monitoring and recovery research

• • Invertebrate and fisheries surveys

• • Sea Turtle research

• • Development of an environmental education and awareness program

You should note that projects conducted at any time are subject to change based on the season and the needs of our local partners.

Additional Learning

Increasing Employability: Pre Departure Program Training:

Our programs are not only life-changing experiences but are also designed to help participants increase their employability. We have developed a curriculum to be completed prior to arrival in the country in order to ensure that more time is dedicated to program work once you commence your volunteer program. 

Eight weeks prior to your start date, you will complete the following online courses in preparation for your in-country program:

PRE-DEPARTURE ORIENTATION (1 hour)

PROGRAM SPECIFIC TRAINING (1 – 5 hours)

MARINE CONSERVATION COURSE (10 – 15 hours)

LEADERSHIP COURSE (10 – 15 hours)

CAREERS COURSE (10 – 15 hours)

In order to obtain a certificate for the Marine Conservation, Leadership and Careers courses which are endorsed by the University of Richmond and UNC Charlotte, you will need to complete quizzes & assignments and will be given 4 weeks post program to submit your work. 

If you are looking to travel in less than 8 weeks from now, you will still complete the course however this will be done in country and all content will need to be downloaded before arrival. 

Health & Hygiene:

The work we contribute to across the globe remains important and new measures allow our participants to continue to join our programs and continue impacting positively on their world and the communities we work with. Changes to our existing protocols have been made by our health and hygiene team to strengthen our health and hygiene protocols and ensure that international standard safeguards are in place to protect our participants, staff and host communities. Please inquire for more information on the protocols. 

How this project makes a difference:

With substantial contributions from our partners, we are the leading marine data collection organisation in the Seychelles.

Much of this data is used by other organisations in the Seychelles.  For example, the Seychelles government relies on this data to show an accurate picture of the overall health of the local coral reefs when setting and creating new management policies.

The work includes a wide range of functions, with the focus on obtaining your dive master qualification and gaining experience working in a dive centre.

This work placement is a great first step in a professional diving career.

Free Time

Volunteering with us not only allows you to participate in programmes assisting disadvantaged communities or endangered ecosystems, but it also offers wonderful opportunities to travel in the local area in your down time or further afield either before or after your programme. Below is some information on trips and travel options in the Seychelles.

Included Side Trips

During the expedition, we will usually organise a hike up Cap Matoopa for you to explore the surrounding area after all your hard work on surveys. The last days of an expedition are usually dedicated to taking volunteers to their favourite dive sites to dive just for fun, having completed all the survey work.

Optional Side Trips

On the weekends many volunteers head to Beau Vallon Bay for a well-earned break. The bay is the main tourist area of Mahe with a lovely long beach, hotels and guest houses, shops and restaurants to suit all tastes. The dive shops in the area offer many options for all diving needs.

Most people would agree that sitting at The Coral Strand Hotel bar with a cool drink and watching the sun set behind Silhouette Island is an experience not to be missed. Volunteers may have the opportunity to visit the islands of Praslin and La Digue. Praslin is home to the Vallee de Mai (a world heritage site) thought by early explorers to be the original “Garden of Eden”, that is the home of the famous Coco de Mer palm tree that produces the huge double nut famous for its provocative shape. La Digue is the picture perfect tropical island, small and intimate with quaint guest houses and arguably the most beautiful beach in the world – Anse Source d’Argent.

Victoria is the capital city of the Seychelles, the smallest capital city in the world. Volunteers often visit to catch up at internet cafes, do a little shopping, or visit the market to soak up the local atmosphere.

Public transport is cheap and frequent and all parts of Mahe can be explored easily by catching a bus. Many volunteers spend happy times bouncing around the island roads on buses taking in the beautiful scenery whilst enjoying the company of locals going about their daily business.

Further Travelling Opportunities

With 115 islands in the Seychelles group stretching over 800 miles, the possibilities of exploring this tropical paradise are endless. The inner-islands, situated closer to Mahe are easily accessible by fast ferry. Praslin, La Digue, Silhouette, Felicity and Sister, to name a few, all have their own unique charms with hotels and guest houses within most people’s price range.

The outer islands such as Desroche, Bird, Dennis, Farquar and the Amirantes group are harder to get to and can only be reached by small plane or charter yacht. Most have small exclusive resorts which can be extremely expensive, but the marine environment and bird life at these outposts of civilization have been barely marked by the hand of man, and as such are in a pristine condition rarely found anywhere in the world today.

Experiences

During your program, you’ll also have the opportunity to experience tailor-made adventure and wellness activities. These have been specially designed to further immerse you in the diversity and richness of the habitats and cultures around you.

• Learn to cook Seychellois Creole cuisine
• Experience traditional moutya dancing on the beach
• Stargaze and learn the southern constellations
• Hike to the top of Mount Curieuse
• Stand up paddleboard at sunrise
• Visit Vallée de Mai in Praslin National Park
• Spend the day at a secluded beach
• Sleep under the stars on Mount Curieuse

BONUS! Conservation Career Kick-Starter online training programme (worth £295)

Do you want to spend your career helping wildlife to flourish, but are feeling a little lost, confused or disillusioned?

Start your career in wildlife conservation with a unique programme of training, support community & jobs from Conservation Careers!

The Conservation Career Kick-Starter is a proven step-by-step system to get clear, get ready, and get hired as a professional conservationist.

Whether you’re at university and planning your next steps, a graduate in the job hunt or working in an unrelated job but interested to switch into conservation, this course is designed to help you.

After going through the course, you’ll have created a personal career plan which will give you confidence in your job hunt and will make everything quicker, simpler and more fun!

All you need to do is register your interest in the project below, and if you choose to make a booking we’ll save a place for you on the Kick-Starter when you get back from your placement.

Included with the Kick-Starter is a year’s full-access to the world’s biggest conservation job board with over 15,000 jobs, plus access to our private online support community, CC Pro.

Duration, Dates & Costs

The programme lasts 24 weeks.

Register your interest below to learn about upcoming start dates and costs.

Register your interest!