Amid Lifeguard Shortage, Online Training Can Shorten Onboarding for New Hires

As summer approaches and we begin to see the light at the end of the Covid tunnel, communities across the country are facing a shortage of lifeguards. In many areas, pools have remained closed for the last year, but there is finally hope of reopening now that over half of US adults have been vaccinated. 

But while the decline in seasonal workers to guard local beaches and pools is not exactly new, this year has seen a drastic change.

In places like Butler County, PA, and Macon, GA, pool & waterpark openings have had to be delayed due to lack of lifeguards, and though swimming pools across the country are reopening as scheduled, hiring new staff is turning out to be difficult. 

The demand is higher than ever, but there just aren’t enough people applying to fill the roles. This is likely due to the fact that lifeguards were heavily affected by the pandemic and many were out of work last year, forcing them to seek other job opportunities. Unfortunately, this decline in interest spells trouble for the 300,000+ public pools all over the United States because they cannot open without the proper safety precautions, which includes a minimum number of lifeguards on duty.

Sarah Chillo, Aquatics Manager for the Minneapolis Park & Rec Board spoke with local news station Kare11, saying, “We normally retain about 55 to 60% of our lifeguards from one year to the next. This year our retention rate is 12%.”

And Minneapolis is not alone in those numbers. Austin, Texas is yet another community that had to inform its residents that their summer opening of pools was to be delayed due to lack of staff. According to an article published by Fox Business, “there are currently 150 lifeguards for the entire city – that’s just 20% of the 750 needed for full coverage.”

A large factor contributing to the lack of lifeguards is the extensive required training and certification programs, many of which were canceled or backlogged last year due to the pandemic and social distancing guidelines. The majority of lifeguards are high school and college students, but the demand for workers of this age is higher than ever, with many seasonal businesses and industries looking to hire for the summer.

One thing that may be able to help significantly when it comes to training new lifeguards is the opportunity to provide this training online. Though some required training involves in-person, hands-on activities, much of the time-consuming instruction on local procedures and duties can be completed independently. Offering this type of training online with the right platform eliminates scheduling conflicts and allows new staff members to complete their training on their own time, going at their own pace, and completing quizzes and activities along the way to measure their understanding. 

Online training also requires little to no overhead, and with many parks & rec departments already facing budget cuts, it allows them to save time and focus their limited resources elsewhere.

Niche Academy’s online learning platform offers users access to hundreds of available staff training tutorials, as well as the ability to create their own tutorials to fit the specific needs of their community, and learner progress can be tracked and tested through activities & quizzes.

Learn more.