by Timothy Schafer
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Nelson Daily
The regional district is floating an idea out to encourage more people to join the ranks of lifeguards and fitness instructors.
In the wake of an ongoing and growing lifeguard shortage across the region, the Regional District of Central Kootenay (RDCK) is offering a subsidized training opportunity, with courses to support the continued growth and succession of lifeguards, swim instructors, fitness instructors and personal trainers.
People looking to become a lifeguard or fitness educator will receive training subsidies until the end of 2024, “to reduce the barrier of entry to become a certified fitness instructor, swim instructor or lifeguard,” noted a recent RDCK press release.
New courses are now open for registration, at rdck.ca/GetTraining to start an application.
In March 2023, the growing shortage of lifeguards in the region resulted in the reduction of operating hours at the three indoor swimming pools the RDCK operated.
Lifeguard staff have been leaving to pursue other career paths and the pools — including Nelson, Castlegar and Creston — do not have enough trained and experienced people to operate the pools at full capacity right now, said RDCK general manager of community services Joe Chirico at the time.
“We have been playing catch-up in our succession of experienced staff, due to the interruption in training and development for future lifeguards and swim instructors,” he said. “Our goal is to get back to pre-pandemic service delivery, and without more staff, including aquatics leadership at all our pools, the hours will continue to be limited and will continue to fluctuate.”
The lifeguard shortage has its origins in the pandemic, when pools across the RDCK were shut down and training and certification programs were put on hold.
Although the RDCK had been working in all of its aquatic centres to increase the lifeguarding pool, Chirico said, there is a lack of human resources almost across all sectors. He said the primary issue is people aging out of the workforce, and more people retiring than people entering into the workforce.
“We can’t forget that where we are really short is in experienced guards, people choosing to make it a little bit more of a career than just the student kind of a job,” Chirico said.
With the B.C. minimum wage rising to $16.75 per hour, it now meets what the regional district pays a lifeguard, he explained, closing what used to be a up to a $5 per hour divide.
Right now the regional district is running lifeguard courses whether they financially break even or not, Chirico said, and treating them as training programs.