18 February 2019

#BeaLifesaver is the new campaign from the Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK), aiming to re-position the role of a lifeguard as a lifesaver and seeks to attract a more diverse workforce to the role.

Are you…

✅ Actively retired?
✅ Only able to commit to part-time hours?
✅ Caring for dependants?
✅ Needing to fund your studies?
✅ Returning to work after a career break?

If you’ve answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions, maybe it’s time you considered lifeguarding as an option too?

To find out more about the National Pool Lifeguard Qualification click here.

The perception of a lifeguard as a school leaver simply biding their time is long gone and today, lifeguards are seen as every day heroes and a valuable member of any leisure facility team.

Having completed robust and regular training, a lifeguard is equipped with valuable lifesaving skills and the confidence to use them in an emergency situation, whether on duty or not, making a lifeguard highly employable both at home and abroad.

The #BeaLifesaver campaign doesn’t just stop at transferable skills and employability as selling points – it also looks at the flexibility the role can offer, opening up the appeal of the role to very different groups of people.

July 2018 saw IQL UK (RLSS UK’s trading subsidiary) launch Generation 9 of the National Pool Lifeguard Qualification (NPLQ). Fully endorsed by CIMSPA and regulated by OFQUAL, Qualifications Wales and CCEA Regulation, the NPLQ is currently the UK’s only professional standard qualification for lifeguards and is recognised as such, internationally.

“Without a strong and diverse team of lifeguards, we simply wouldn’t be able to operate fully,” said Martin Guyton, Chief Executive of tmactive’s Tonbridge Swimming Pool.

“They are a vital part of the team that make our leisure centres the fun, varied and safe places they are.

“People come to us because they have the peace of mind that whether they are working out, swimming, using the creche or just meeting friends, the team members here know what to do in an emergency – our lifeguards are an integral part of providing that assurance.

“As a significant local employer, it is important to us that our team here reflect the community they serve; the new #BeaLifesaver marketing materials make it easy for us to be clever with our recruitment activity.”

Want to qualify as a lifeguard or know someone who might? Want to know more about the course and what’s involved?

To find out more about the National Pool Lifeguard Qualification click here.