West Vancouver creates free lifeguard training program to address acute shortage

With dozens of vacant lifeguard jobs and bigsummer crowds about to descendon Ambleside and Dundarave beaches, the District of West Vancouver is tackling its shortage of qualified people by offering free lifeguard training worth close to $1,000.

The programwill also give graduates excellentprospects oflanding a job that pays almost $28per hour.

According to the senior manager of community services, the newLifeguard Recruitment Programis unique in British Columbia, born of urgent necessityand the realization that earning the credentials towork as a lifeguard and swimming instructor can be cost-prohibitive.

"Right now, our current staffing is32 lifeguards where normally we would be close to 100 lifeguards at this time of the year because we have to open two beaches, as well as staff our pool and swimming lessons,"said Jill Lawlor. "The idea is to break down barriers ... to get [lifeguards] trained quickly and on our beaches and pool deck."

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Theres concern about a lifeguard shortage in Canada and if beaches and pools will be kept safe as people head out to cool off during the summer.

West Vancouver isn't alone in its acute lifeguard shortage. Shutdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic drained pools of qualified staff.Training and certification programs were alsoput on hold, effectively turning off the pipeline feeding newpeople into the sector.

According to Lawlor, West Vancouver's lifeguard recruitmentprogram will see asmany as16 candidates put throughtwo courses simultaneously to earn their National Lifeguard and Red Cross Water Safety Instructor certification. Both courses are typically offered separately for about $450 each.

Upon completion, successful graduateswill be granted a job interview and an inside track to a job that pays $24.81 per hourplus 12 per cent in lieu of benefits.

Nathan Overgaardsaid earning such a wage would make him the envy of his friends. The 21-year-old Queens University biology student is home for the summer and needs a job to help cover next year's rent and tuition. He applied for the program after seeing an ad in the local paper.

"The fact that the training was free and so condensed was definitely appealing to me," he said."I can get the training done more efficiently, and I'm able to apply for a job sooner."

Lawlor said the lifeguard shortage has been hard on existing staffand has even forced the unscheduled shutdownof the West Vancouver Aquatic Centre on occasion.

But more concerning, she said, is that the district can't meet the demand for swimming lessons without enough swimming instructors, potentially leaving a generation of children without basic water safety skills.

"Swimming lessons programs are selling out in less than fiveminutes," said Lawlor. "We're a waterfront community, and if people don't know how to swim, this is going to be a crisis in a few years."

Asof Monday, 23people had applied for the lifeguard training and recruitment program, according to Lawlor. It isopento those 16 and older with their bronze medallion, bronze cross and standard first aid/CPR-C.

Another 23 who are already fully certified have applied for lifeguard jobs after seeing coverage of the program in the local paper.