Lifeguard shortage causing waitlists for swim lessons, shorter pool hours on Vancouver Island
Lifeguard shortage causing waitlists for swim lessons, shorter pool hours on Vancouver Island
At the Oak Bay Recreation Centre there is quite the waitlist for swimming lessons.
"Well, the total number is pretty scary. It’s about 3,300 people," said Oak Bay Mayor Kevin Murdoch on Thursday.
The issue is due to an island-wide lifeguard shortage. On top of that, pools are popular in the region and there are only so many hours in the day.
It’s a lingering problem stemming from the pandemic.
"It’s a perfect storm right now," said Murdoch. "We had two years where nobody got trained because all the pools got closed down and so we’ve got this backlog now."
In Oak Bay, the poolside problem is largely due to age.
The municipality has hired almost as many lifeguards as before the pandemic, but the demographic of the workers has changed.
"A high school student may only be able to put in a few hours a week," said Murdoch.
Similar problems are occurring across the island. The City of Nanaimo currently has 72 lifeguards on staff. That's about 30 short of where it needs to be.
"Recently, as of Jan. 8, we’ve had to reduce some accesses to the pool," said Kathy Gonzales, aquatic manager for the City of Nanaimo.
In order to prioritize important swimming lessons, public swims have been scaled back.
"We have a large community," said Gonzales. "There’s a high demand for swimming lessons and we wanted to make sure we could prioritize the swimming lessons."
Still, the waitlist for those lessons is long.
Back on the South Island, the sign at the front door of the Esquimalt Recreation Centre says, "We’re hiring daytime pool staff."
"We are still short enough that we’re not running at pre-COVID capacity," said Meghan Nicklin, recreation co-ordinator for the Township of Esquimalt.
The township is down about 13 hours a week in terms of operational hours compared to before the pandemic.
Swimming lessons have been cut in half compared to pre-COVID numbers. But, things are looking up.
"We’ve recently hired seven people that we’re onboarding right now, and another six in the fall, so it’s getting better for sure," said Nicklin.
That improvement has come through some creativity.
The recreation centre is working with Esquimalt High’s gym program, giving students the option of signing up for Aquatic P.E. This will allow them to obtain the first two steps on their journey to becoming a lifeguard while in school.
"So once they're done their Bronze Medallion and Bronze Cross, we can hire them to be assistant lifeguards," said Nicklin. "Then once they’re here, we can offer them professional development to move them into lifeguarding or swim instructor roles."
In Saanich, the municipality has been struggling to fill lifeguard positions as well.
Over the winter break the district put on an intense waterpark lifeguard course. That meant long hours for those looking to get their certification, but the effort has paid off.
"We’re getting back to normal really quickly," said Tiana Solares, senior manager of recreation for the District of Saanich.
"We’ve hired already 10 new lifeguards out of that class alone," she said.
Saanich isn’t done yet. On Jan. 26 it will be holding a job fair.
"We’re looking to recruit lifeguards, building service workers, parks operators as well as other positions within the district," said Solares.
The district is hoping to bring staffing levels up across the municipality after many decided to pursue other career opportunities during the pandemic.
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