Leaving school and entering the workforce can be both exciting and daunting. A world of possibilities await for study, work, travel and life!
If you are interested in swimming, aquatics, sport or recreation, the aquatic industry can offer a number of career pathways for school leavers. From becoming a lifeguard to teaching people how to swim to working behind the scenes in a leisure centre, there are a range of flexible and rewarding job opportunities that will allow you to learn many transferable skills and perhaps even allow you to continue your studies at the same time.
Aquatic facilities are often large, multifaceted organisations that run by local councils or management agencies. As well as jobs involving being on pool deck or in the water, they have a range of customer and community facing positions and also more office-based roles. For example, there may be opportunities at assistant, officer or coordinator level in areas such as community activities and programs, community liaison, customer service, facility/equipment, marketing, and office and course administration, all of which will allow you to broaden your skills and knowledge to find out what really suits you.
Top 3 tips for school leavers
- Don’t expect to know everything and have all the answers about your future
- Don’t expect to get everything right
- There is great value in being exposed to a range of experiences and in learning from what may feel like mistakes
When it comes to starting a career, or even just finding your first job, try to work out what you are interested in, what you like doing, what feels right and go from there. Also, consider what you are good at and where your natural abilities lie. This will help to hone your thoughts and personal ambitions, but remember if you are not entirely sure what is right for you at this early stage, that is okay (see tip 3 above!).
What you need to know
Working in the aquatic industry means working with people and the public. This means you will need to learn about providing good customer service to a range of people from different walks of life and backgrounds, and all of the jobs come with considerable responsibility. For example, if you become a lifeguard, you may one day have to put your first aid and resuscitation skills into action to save somebody's life.
Depending on location, jobs within the aquatic industry can be seasonal. So it is worth knowing that spring and the start of summer are always the best times to look for jobs in the aquatic industry.
Job opportunities
Generally, most people first enter the aquatic industry as a lifeguard or swimming and water safety teacher, which provide relatively good rates of pay for entry level positions.
Both roles can quickly lead to coordinator and team-leader type positions, and eventually even management level positions such as swim school manager or lifeguard duty manager. In addition, there are other more technical roles, such as aquatic technical operator, which chiefly involves managing the water quality and pool plant equipment at an aquatic facility.
Qualifications
Depending on the role you are interested in, you will need to obtain appropriate qualifications to work in the aquatic industry. This usually mean doing a vocational education and training (VET) course, which will give you nationally recognised qualifications that allow you to work anywhere in Australia.
Most of these courses are relatively short in duration and not too expensive to undertake.
If your focus is on being in the water or on the pool deck, the following courses, which involve some pre-course e-learning and two days of face-to-face training, can be a good starting point:
- Swimming and Water Safety Teacher Skill Set (SISSS00132)
- Pool Lifeguard Skill Set (SISSS00133).
If you are interested in the aquatics industry more broadly, you might like to do a course that will give you one of the following qualifications:
- SIS10122 Certificate I in Sport and Recreation
- SIS20122 Certificate II in Sport and Recreation
- SIS30122 Certificate III in Sport, Aquatics and Recreation
- SIS40122 Certificate IV in Sport, Aquatics and Recreation
If you are a school leaver, you are probably best placed to do the Certificate II or Certificate III courses. Royal Life Saving offers some of these courses but there are also a range of other Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) that provide these courses. Visit the Your Career website for current information about different industries and career options; this website allows you to search for, and compare, VET courses and training providers, so that you can make an informed choice.
If you haven’t left school yet, it is important to know that it is possible to start some of these courses while you are still at school. Ask your school about VET in schools and Preparing Secondary School Students for Work options.
Further information
When it comes to choosing a direction and actually finding a job there are many helpful websites with loads of advice. However, it also pays to talk to people, hear their stories, ask questions and seek personal advice. Family, close friends, teachers, friend’s parents, careers advisors and people that work in the industry or in roles you are interested can all help you to understand the positions better and whether they will be right for you.
The beauty of the aquatic industry is that aquatic facilities are very much community-based organisations. It is well worth paying a visit, or several visits, to your local facility and talking to the staff generally and enquiring about potential roles.
The federal government has published the following sites which offer helpful information and tools designed to help you make informed decisions, and find – and land – the job you are after:
- JobSearch. Has a job search tool, career profile tool, and tips and advice on actually landing the job and where to go for further help.
- Job Jump Start. Has resources and activities to help you work out what jobs might suit you.
- Your Career. Can help you make decisions about study and training, your first job, or the next step in your career. Asks you to complete a short quiz in order to provide careers information around study, training, job options tailored to your preferences and needs.
- National Careers Institute. Provides authoritative and accurate careers information and support irrespective of your age or career stage
Generic job search websites
Job search sites specifically for the sport and recreation industry
Large sport and recreation organisations
Royal Life Saving
If you would like to make a positive impact on people’s lives, work as part of a team and have a flexible job that gives you a range of important skills then working in the aquatic industry is something you should definitely explore. If you have any further questions about working in the aquatic industry you can also reach out to your local Royal Life Saving office. We are always happy to help.
