Slew of swimming lessons cancelled as city grapples with staffing shortage

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Despite being one of the biggest draws in the city’s 2022 Fall Leisure Guide, it appears a surprising number of classes have been cancelled.

A check on the city’s online Leisure Guide activity search Wednesday shows a number of cancelled swim classes at Pan Am Pool, Sergeant Tommy Prince Place and more.

While the demand for swimming lessons is high following years of pandemic related shutdowns, CTV News Winnipeg has learned it's a difficult time for the industry, which is grappling with staffing shortages.

Christopher Love with Lifesaving Society of Manitoba said swimming instructors and lifeguards are particularly hard to come by right now.

“With facilities shut down for essentially two years, or very restricted in what they could offer, it meant that the next crop of swimming instructors basically did not get trained for two years,” he said.

“At the same time, with facilities being shut down, we also saw a lot of instructors laid off because their facilities were closed, and they went to other career fields.”

According to Love, pools didn't get up to full running capacity until March of this year, so it will take time for things to get back to normal.

“Learning to swim is the base-level of protection that we believe everybody should have when they're going in or around the water, and so certainly we're very concerned if there's any interruption to that, as we have had over the past two and a half years,” he said.

CITY STREAMLINING CERTIFICATION TO FILL STAFFING GAPS

A spokesperson for the City of Winnipeg tells CTV News Winnipeg while they strive to put together a comprehensive offering for Leisure Guide programming, the reality is they consistently see more demand than they have the capacity to offer, particularly for their more popular courses, like swimming and skating lessons.

“It’s not unusual for classes to be cancelled in the lead up to registration day as we adjust to changing staffing levels and facility availability – it occurs every season, albeit to a greater degree following two years of intermittent service interruptions due to the pandemic,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

He went on to note the majority of the cancellations take place ahead of registration opening to minimize cancelling and refunding programs. Where possible, the city looks to add courses back to adjust to demand.

He notes the lifeguarding shortage was a particular challenge this year, along with a lack of wading pool attendants.

“Recruitment and lifeguard training is an ongoing process; however, the impact of the pandemic, closures, layoffs, and fewer lifeguard certification courses has created a high demand for this specialized position,” he said.

The city said with the Canadian Red Cross no longer offering lifeguarding certifications, it is currently planning to transition to Lifesaving Society of Canada’s swim and lifeguard training programs.

“While we have acknowledged certifications from both organizations in the past, streamlining to one certification will assist with quicker employment eligibility,” the spokesperson said.

The city notes at the first full day of Fall 2021 registration, the city completed 10,794 registrations, which is about 77 per cent full.