THE Peninsula Aquatic Recreation Centre has cleared its waitlist for lessons after a difficult start to the year.
The aquatic centre was impacted by a shortage of swim teachers, which has affected swimming programs nationally. Peninsula Leisure started a recruitment initiative earlier this year which has helped PARC staff catch up.
The Swim Teacher Active Recruitment Program covered the costs of swim teaching qualifications and offered payment to prospective teachers for in-water training hours.
Peninsula Leisure CEO Katherine Thom said that the STAR training program was instrumental to emptying the waiting list, which was more than 700 people long at the start of the year.
“Late last year we had 497 weekly swimming classes with 1,715 students and now thanks to the program, we have 553 classes with 2,109 students and all STAR Program teachers employed. And now in Term 2 this year, we have an additional 23 newly qualified STAR teachers and will again increase the number of classes and availability for PARC swim students,” she said. “There’s now no waiting list and PARC Swim is taking new members every day. The STAR program is providing major benefits for both water safety and employment in Frankston City.”
STAR program participant Gemma Gundry has recently started a job as a swim teacher. She says “for me the best thing is the satisfaction of building a swimmers’ confidence, seeing them become comfortable and confident in the water is a very rewarding experience. Helping others discover the joy of swimming means every day at work is different.”
To learn more about the STAR program visit parcfrankston.com.au/star-program