Summer鈥檚 just around the corner, and there are still plenty of openings for lifeguards at D.C.-area universities, recreational departments and neighborhood pools.
Robin Riley, director for Montgomery County鈥檚 Department of Recreation, said the Maryland county鈥檚 11 pools 鈥� seven outdoor facilities and four aquatic centers 鈥� are ready for the start of the summer season.
鈥淲e think we鈥檙e in good shape for the weekends coming up,鈥� said Riley, but the department is still hiring for that surge once schools let out and summer camps begin in June.
The hiring process begins at Thanksgiving, Riley said, and there are a number of ways the county works to make sure there鈥檚 a large pool of applicants to work as lifeguards throughout the summer and beyond.
鈥淎ll of our lifeguard classes are full,鈥� Riley said. 鈥淲e reduced the price of those classes, and we even offered free classes for those who were willing to sign on and work for us.”
There are perks to the popular job that have not changed.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e outdoors, you get to swim, you get to splash around,鈥� Riley said.
But there are things that have changed, including the lifesaving skills needed for the job. One of the changes, said Riley, 鈥渋s having Narcan available at all of our facilities, so that if there鈥檚 a situation where that鈥檚 needed, our staff have it accessible to them, and they鈥檝e been trained on how to administer it.鈥�
Riley said the county鈥檚 efforts to have young people trained to administer Narcan is something she鈥檚 seen when attending some of the public outreach events.
鈥淚t鈥檚 remarkable to see how many young people are there, interested in learning and feeling like they can help.鈥� She continued, 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a very positive thing.鈥�
Riley said the county is also working with municipalities, including Rockville and Gaithersburg, on the same goal of having full staffs for pool season 鈥渢o make sure that kids that want to work can work closer to home.”
Riley said that now, the big push is to make sure that the county is fully staffed for all of its summer camps, as well as the pools and aquatic centers. At last count, Riley said there were 310 vacant slots for both.
鈥淔or pools, it鈥檚 about 100,” Riley said, although the number continues to change as more people apply and summer approaches.
For more information on how and where to apply, visit the to see the .
