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Students continue lifeguard, instructor training

Certifications open door to employment, career opportunities
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Lifeguard students continue to put in the hours and study to advance toward certification. (Cassie Ofner photo)

Six secondary school students are continuing their work in the pool at the leisure facility and on land as they advance toward a full set of lifeguard and water safety course certifications.

When complete, the students, who began their training this past summer, will be in line for employment at the facility and have a valuable skill set to build upon in the years ahead, says District of Houston leisure services director Cassie Ofner.

Once a lifeguard at the facility herself, Ofner spoke of how the training and work experience can open doors.

“Some lifeguards that I have met in my years of working at pools enjoyed the first aid component of the training and have continued to become paramedics or nurses, others that enjoyed teaching swimming lessons or aquafit and have gone on to become teachers or personal trainers, and some chose a similar path as myself, and explored education within the recreation management and tourism field,” she said.

”For individuals that are looking to stay in the aquatics field long-term, there are a large variety of senior instructor courses that people can take. These courses would allow you to teach individuals first aid skills, or how to become lifeguards and swim instructors. It is a very high-demand skill set, especially in areas like Northern B.C.”

That skill set demand is in full evidence at the leisure centre where it has had to trim hours because it doesn’t have enough lifeguards, particularly during school hours when lifeguards who are school students aren’t available.

“We currently have eight lifeguards employed at the Houston Leisure Facility. Seven of these employees are high school students. In order to return to our regular daytime hours, it would be beneficial to have 1 or 2 more staff members that have availability during the day,” said Ofner.

The shortage prompted the District of Houston to approve of a five-year program with the goal of training up to 30 lifeguards.

“The district covers all basic lifeguarding/instructing courses, which includes Standard First Aid, Bronze Medallion and Cross, National Lifeguard, and the Water Safety Instructor Course,” said Ofner.

That comes to approximately $1,300 per candidate and in return the person must commit to two years of employment.

To date the students have completed their lifeguard training and have just started the water safety instructor course.

“We are optimistic that they will have their classroom training and practicum hours completed by the spring, so that we can begin to offer more frequent swimming lessons at the leisure facility,” said Ofner.

In order of progression students advance from Bronze Medallion to Bronze Cross to Standard First Aid to National Lifeguard and/or Water Safety Instructor.

“To become a lifeguard, the final course to complete is the National Lifeguard Certification. After they complete this course, they are eligible for part time employment at the facility. In order to teach swimming lessons, they must complete the Water Safety Instructor Course, and a number of practicum hours before getting their certification,” Ofner said.