Changes in IMCA Exam Resit Protocol

During a recent Diving Division Management Committee meeting a review of the revised IMCA examination resit protocol issued in September 2018 was discussed. All accepted the posts of diving supervisor and life support technician (LST) are safety critical and it is essential that candidates for these positions are able to demonstrate convincingly that they have the necessary aptitude, knowledge and skills to fulfil the roles. 

Following the review, it was agreed that candidates who are unsuccessful following the first resit exam will now be required to attend the respective training course in full for the second resit exam being undertaken. Experience within IMCA has shown that candidates who have recently undertaken a full training course programme which involves practicing exam techniques stand a better chance of success when undertaking the IMCA qualification. Therefore, candidates booking the exam following the first resit will also be required to submit a new course completion certificate for the exam being undertaken.

With effect from 1 May 2019, the following revised exam resit protocol will apply:

• Candidates will only be allowed to sit the IMCA examination three times: an initial exam and then two subsequent resits.  Candidates who fail all three attempts will be required to wait a period of two years from the date of the last failure to allow them to gain more experience before being allowed to re-enter the scheme.
  Once the two-year waiting period has elapsed, candidates will then be required to re-take the full supervisor or LST training programme again as detailed in the current version of IMCA offshore diving supervisor and life support technician certification schemes (IMCA D 013), including reattending an IMCA-approved trainee diving supervisor/assistant life support technician (ALST) training programme and fulfilling all the practical training requirements before reapplying in full again for the exam;

• Should a candidate be unsuccessful on the first occasion, he/she will be allowed an initial resit which will be the second attempt which can be booked 30 days after sitting the first exam. The delay is to allow the candidate sufficient time to study before resitting the exam;
• Should the candidate be unsuccessful following the first resit, he/she will not be permitted to re-sit the exam for a third time until:
  • a period of one-year has elapsed;
  • he/she has successfully undertaken a new IMCA approved training course for the relevant qualification; and
  • he/she has submitted a course completion certificate for the new IMCA approved training course as part of the exam booking for the second resit exam. 

This is to ensure that the candidate has plenty of time improve his/her skills and to learn and master all the required information before trying the exam again.

Originally issued as IMCA D 05/19