By Frank Bucholtz/Special to Aldergrove Star
One of the enduring changes in society brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and lengthy shutdowns of public facilities is a persistent shortage of workers.
Members of the public who regularly use Langley Township’s three swimming pools have almost certainly noticed this.
As the Township’s website states, “At this time, due to a shortage of lifeguards, swim instructors and AquaFit instructors, we are only able to offer a limited number of aquatic programs with capacity limits in place. Your continued patience is appreciated as we work towards hiring and training staff. If you or someone you know is interested in joining our aquatics team as a lifeguard or aquatics instructor, please apply today.”
The Township’s employment page requests applications for up to 20 aquatics instructors, up to 20 lifeguards/instructors, and one senior aquatics instructor.
All these positions are considered “auxiliary,” meaning they do not offer specified regular hours of work.
Many of the other “help wanted” positions listed are also auxiliary positions in recreation.
Of the 18 separate listings (as of March 3), 11 were positions in recreation and parks. Only one of the 11 offered a regular, full-time job – an arbourist in parks operations. Up to two positions are to be filled.
At the moment, only two of the three Township pools are open.
W.C. Blair pool in Murrayville is closed for its annual maintenance – until March 12.
The Walnut Grove pool and Aldergrove Credit Union Community Centre outdoor pool are open.
In a response to an Aldergrove Star inquiry about lifeguard shortages, the Township media relations department replied: “Yes, there continues to be a shortage of trained and certified lifeguards affecting most municipalities.That shortage has increased due to COVID-19 and the lack of available training available during that time.
“The Township has been running ongoing recruitment campaigns using a variety of online and offline advertising methods (job platforms, our websites, social media, print ads, career fairs) and will continue to do so to expand our pool-based programs leading into the summer season.”
The Aldergrove pool and water park is incredibly popular during the summer months, and at that time requires a lot of employees. The Township did not respond when asked about potential reductions in operating hours.
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During the busy summer months, when there is a lot of demand for the outdoor pool and water park experience at Aldergrove, residents of Langley Township have priority use of the facility, which was built and continues to be subsidized by Langley Township taxpayers. They have the ability to pre-register 10 days before their actual visit. This applies to all water park sessions.
Non-residents can also pre-register, but they can do so seven days before their visit. Thus if the demand is great, as it has been on many days this summer, it will be mainly Township residents using the facility.
In 2019 and 2021, the Township tried “resident only” visits on Sundays, but the attendance was low. Ultimately, it was decided open it up on Sundays to non-residents, as well.
Another issue is capacity limits.
In 2019, before COVID-19, the facility had a limit of 1,200 people at one time. In 2020, it was closed. In 2021, when it reopened, capacity was limited to 200, and gradually was increased to 600. It remained at 600 during 2022.
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The shortage of lifeguards is a significant factor in the capacity limits.
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