I base that on the fact that the core value, the welds, will be higher-quality and that's more important than the diving execution.
The diving might be off, but it shouldn't be that hard to learn well enough to survive and be effective. Of course, I'm neither a diver nor a welder.
Did I win?
Yep. But a drowned welder is also not much ;)
https://www.commercialdivingacademy.com/underwater-welding.d...
That's just one program, but it appears diving is the first thing you learn.
Edit: If you look at it from the context of a normal welder, they have an understanding and control of their environment before they start welding. You don't realize it because you've been understanding your environment since you were born. To do underwater welding, you'd first have to understand how you operate in that work environment, and then they can teach you how to start welding in it.
My experience is that it generally has been managers shielding the programmers rather than the programmers shielding themselves.
I think it is just a people problem. Programmers tend to seclude themselves from their customers. Whole IT departments tend to seclude themselves from their users.
When you are looking for underwater welders for the off-shore industry, what is better, teaching a welder to dive or teaching a diver to weld?
(that's a serious question with a real answer).
It is much easier for a programmer to acquire the required domain knowledge than it is (usually) for a domain specialist to learn how to program. But you can only do so if you're prepared to 'dive in'.