Today, Friday June 3 is the final day of the summer 2022 lifeguard recruitment campaign.  Candidates interested in working as a lifeguard this summer must express interest today in order to get trained and hired to work at a pool this summer. The City will continue training lifeguard candidates throughout the summer, building the pipeline of future lifeguards for next summer and beyond.

PHILADELPHIA – Philadelphia Parks & Recreation Commissioner Kathryn Ott Lovell today announced that any candidate 16 and older has until midnight tonight Friday, June 3 to register interest in working as a lifeguard at a City pool this summer.  The department urges anyone who can swim to consider signing up for free training and certification through Parks & Rec to earn $16 an hour as a first year lifeguard working at a City pool. Candidates interested in starting to train now for a job next summer can email lifeguard@phila.gov to sign up for summer lifeguard training classes.

Since training began in February, Philadelphia Parks & Recreation has identified over 80% of the staff necessary to open all 65 available outdoor pools this summer. The process to train, certify, and hire a candidate takes an average of 4 weeks. The lifeguard certification course is free for applicants ages 16-24 who commit to working at a City pool. Successful candidates who begin the process the week of June 6 can expect to be working poolside in early July.

“The challenges of a national lifeguard shortage and tight labor market continue to impact our ability to train and recruit lifeguards,” said Commissioner Kathryn Ott Lovell. “We’ve made a tremendous push to recruit lifeguards and other seasonal staff this summer, thanks to the support of Philadelphians. We have schools, community organizations, neighbors, civic associations, business leaders, physicians, and the media to thank for helping staff our pools and spread the word about the best Summer job in Philadelphia. ”

According to the American Lifeguard Association, a nationwide lifeguard shortage has threatened to close nearly one third of public pools in America this summer. Philadelphia Parks & Rec has left no stone unturned in its mission to recruit the staff needed to open city pools.

This year, The department began recruitment as soon as the last pool closed in 2021, and expanded its screening and training capacity to five pools across the city, offering training and certification classes 7 days a week.

While seasonal employers across the country face reported seasonal labor shortages, Parks & Rec has employed a variety of new tactics to maximize interest in lifeguarding with the City. Efforts include:

  • Raised the starting pay to $16.00/hour.

  • Paid the Red Cross certification fee for 16-24 year old applicants.

  • Distributed more than 10,000 flyers, posters, and postcards across the city.

  • Connected with more than 100 high schools, charter schools, colleges and universities to share the job opportunity with the student body and school community.

  • Targeted social media campaign that reached over 250,000 individuals.

  • Launched a TikTok account dedicated to recruiting Philadelphia lifeguards.

  • Attended over 35 job fairs in all corners of the city, including at highly-visible festivals and events including at the Blue Cross Broad Street Run and Expo.

  • Knocked on doors to personally invite candidates to apply to be a lifeguard.

  • Generated over $800,000 in earned media coverage thanks to community and media support.

  • Engaged other City agencies and City Council offices to share key messaging.

 

What it takes to be a lifeguard?

If you can swim, Parks & Rec will train and hire you to become a lifeguard. A detailed list of requirements can be found at www.phila.gov/lifeguards. The first step for interested candidates is to register interest by today, Friday, June 3, and then brush up on swimming skills and prepare for the lifeguard screening.

The lifeguard certification course is free for applicants ages 16-24 who commit to working at a City pool. The Red Cross lifeguard certification fee is $110 for all other candidates.

What is next?

Each summer, Philadelphia Parks & Recreation needs to recruit between 350-400 lifeguards and the same number of pool maintenance attendants. The pool opening schedule is based on which pools have the staff to open safely. Should a lifeguard shortage prevent all pools from opening again this year, the decision on which pools will open will be based on: available staffing, geography, neighborhood need, past pool usage data, and other nearby cooling options like spraygrounds. It is worth noting that some parts of the City have a much higher number/concentration of pools. If neighborhoods have multiple pools, PPR will seek to open the largest or the pool with highest visitation in order to serve the most residents.

The first pool to open this summer will be the Lederer Pool (Swimmo) at Fishtown Recreation Center, on June 21. The full pool opening schedule will be released by the end of June.

Learn more at: phila.gov/lifeguards. 

 

Questions? Register interest by contacting lifeguards@phila.gov

 

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