DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The national lifeguard shortage is becoming more prominent on Central Florida’s coast. Volusia Beach Safety said it is working to change things up as much as it can to try and make the job more appealing and get more people in the door.
The county said they only have about 10 full-time position openings but plenty of applicants. The struggle is hiring part time and seasonal guards. They have more than 100 openings for those positions.
“It’s physically demanding, it’s mentally demanding. You have to be very responsible. You’re getting paid to sit up there and actually save lives,” said Deputy Chief Tammy Malphurs.
Malphurs said Volusia Beach Safety has the budget for 300 part-timers, but only employs about 190 right now.
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With summer coming to an end, many college students who serve as lifeguards will be going back to school and they’ll lose the highschoolers during the week.
“Right now, we already started calling those lifeguards and scheduling them for the holiday weekends,” Malphurs said.
The county is looking for ways to make the job more appealing to fill the gaps. It bumped up the pay last year to $15 an hour and offers $500 bonuses.
Now, Malphurs said they’re looking to make more flexible schedules so they can even get people in half-days, but she also said there are several non-negotiables that are deterring more people recently than ever before.
“A lot of people who come try out cannot meet the physical requirements,” she said.
Those include a 500-meter swim in less than 10 minutes and a half-mile run in less than three minutes and 15 seconds.
Another issue: technology.
“You can’t have your phone on your tower for obvious reasons. You need to be paying attention, so that’s a strict policy and that’s one of the things we’re dealing with,” she said.
Those who do the job, though, tend to love it.
“If working out is something that’s super beneficial to you or you love to do that, you get paid to do that with people you like to work with and be around,” said lifeguard Emma Pinciaro.
Pinciaro has been a part-time guard here for seven years. She believes it’s made her stronger, more well-rounded and prepared for life’s unexpected moments.
“You’re saving people’s lives. Yes, it looks like we sit there most of the time but you have to think of everything going through our brains,” she said.
You don’t have to be a Volusia resident to work there as a lifeguard, but you do have to be at least 16 years old.
If you’re interested, you can find information on applying by clicking here.
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