Teacher training on offer for swim courses

A STATE-funded swimming school is short of teachers for its coming summer program and is calling out for local beach experts to share their know-how with the next generation.

VicSwim is facing another summer at a reduced capacity that could potentially deny hundreds of children access to subsidised ocean swimming lessons unless it can urgently boost its staff base in coming weeks.

Aquatics and Recreation Victoria (ARV) is offering to pay for swim teaching qualification courses for interested participants to top up its workforce and provide valuable training for passionate beachgoers to pass on to the next generation.

ARV is planning to return its VicSwim program across Surf Coast and Bellarine locations in January; at Cosy Corner, Fishermans Beach, Point Roadknight and Ocean Grove Main Beach.

The program at Cosy Corner can accommodate up to 700 children each summer, with it and Ocean Grove being the largest VicSwim courses in Victoria.

Surf Coast-based ARV support worker Jillian Cooper said the program had felt the strain of COVID-19 last January, when it was forced to cancel classes due to the staff shortage.

“We’d like to run with five teachers at Cosy Corner; last year we struggled to get three,” Ms Cooper said.

“That means classes had to be cancelled and children missed out.

“It’s such a good opportunity for families to do it. We cover beach awareness, water safety, skills and getting kids familiar in water.”

Ms Cooper said the lessons were popular among children of holiday makers who might not have the same awareness of beach safety as their coastal counterparts.

The program is targeting people with knowledge of local surf like local lifesaving members or their parents, with the expectation that they could balance the work with other jobs or volunteering roles such as beach patrolling.

“They’ve got the skills, they know the beach, and they would be perfect, rather than a non-beach person who’s used to teaching by the pool.”

The swim teaching program is open to anyone aged over 17, while people without teaching or lifeguard qualifications can receive their training for free.

For more information on the program, head to aquaticsandrecreation.org.au/jobs/vicswim-workforce-initiative/