The grand opening of the Vanderhoof Aquatic Centre is over two months away and the YMCA of Northern BC is still looking to plug a few holes.
A lot of openings are available at a specific position according to Centre Manager Heather Crozier.
“Lifeguards. We are in desperate need of finding lifeguards if there are people who are interested who haven’t started their training or maybe if they have completed some of the courses but not all of them we would love for them to reach out to us so that we can help them.”
The YMCA has offered a $500 signing bonus for successful candidates who complete certification with the additional costs of attending training.
Anyone wishing to take advantage of this must apply by November 30th.
Crozier believes the slow response to the lifeguard jobs is mainly due to a lack of access to such a facility in the past has played a factor.
“A lot of families haven’t had direct access to aquatic facilities, having lived in Vanderhoof so they just haven’t had the access to go swimming and to access that training.”
The non-profit organization is taking steps at the moment to accommodate the said training for any potential employees but the appropriate staffing levels have proven difficult so far.
“We are currently working with the Lifesaving Society to bring in some trainers so that we can offer in-house training before we open, it is a bit of a challenge being close to Christmas time of year and a lot of the trainers are already booked or have taken holidays.”
The grand opening is slated for January 26th.