Images above and below courtesy of AUSTSWIM
Strategies to help fill the staffing gap James Heffield suggests ways aquatic and recreation centres can overcome the current staffing crisis
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ith the world slowly waking from its forced COVID-19 hibernation, with people venturing out and seeking a degree of normalcy - albeit with some precautions - aquatic and recreation centres are the ideal hub for satisfying both our craving for human contact and our need for physical exercise, yet these same hubs suffered greatly under the pandemic’s heights, with many forced to let team members go during extended periods of government restrictions and lockdowns. Many staffers were forced to seek employment elsewhere, and now facilities and their affiliated services are finding themselves short-staffed. So how can aquatic and recreation facilities find employees to replace those who were forced to leave during the lengthy government-mandated closures? What subsets of job seekers might be targeted? And what other strategies might be employed to help retain current employees? Reach out to new groups When considering who to approach to fill the staffing gap, it’s a good idea to focus on groups that aren’t always targeted by other industries but who may be ideal for the less traditional hours and broken-up days often found in the leisure industry. Students are an obvious target, and can fill the more physical positions, such as lifeguard or swim teacher. These are positions that currently are in huge demand, with many pools and schools forced to close or restrict operating hours due to the labour shortage. Consider the impact in swim lessons alone. The Australian Swimming Coaches and Teachers Association (ASCTA) has estimated a need for 2,000 swimming teachers, with Chief Executive Brendan Ward saying “we are now seeing average 22 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 149
waiting lists for swim lessons 20% higher than they were preCOVID, and many swim schools cannot even cater for their existing customer base.” In Victoria, in the Canadian province of British Columbia, the Esquimalt Recreation Centre has teamed up with the local high school to introduce a programme for secondary students, offering an elective course during school where the students can gain various water rescue certifications. These certifications are important stepping stones on the way to becoming a certified lifeguard, and have proven popular with the students. A similar approach could be used in Australia and New Zealand. Another underutilised group is older adults who may have once worked in the recreation industry but have since stepped away, for whatever reason. Those who have retired or left for part-time roles recently may be interested in coming back to help out, if only in an interim basis until new staffers can be found.
