Pools across the province are struggling to find lifeguards.

Training was paused during the pandemic, and centres are still trying to get caught up.

Colin Munro has been a lifeguard at the Pat Crossman Aquatic Centre in Riverview for the past two years.

He encourages anyone with swimming skills to look into it, “The qualifications seem a little bit daunting because there are three or four of them that you need to get, but it is well worth it.”

(Photo: submitted)

Munro adds that being a lifeguard is more than just a part-time job, “It teaches you a lot of stuff, responsibility, problem-solving and communications. I can get my point across much more clearly and effectively at school and with my family and in general.”

His interest in becoming a lifeguard began when he was a little boy, “My mom enrolled me in swimming lessons and I’d always see the lifeguards sitting in their chair, as being the coolest people in the pool. So when I turned 16, I enrolled for the proper courses and then I applied,” Munro says. “Just the responsibility of being in charge of an entire pool and the knowledge that they required was interesting to me.”

He says it’s a really good feeling to provide a service to the community that helps keep people safe.

Pools across the province offer the required courses to gain the skills you need to become a lifeguard.  These include Bronze Cross and NLS.

Visit Lifesaving Society New Brunswick for a full list of facilities that offer these courses and upcoming dates.