Everyone knows it’s hard to find good help these days and that’s particularly true when it comes to lifeguards.
At the 2024 Guilford County Board of Commissioners Retreat last week, Commissioner Alan Perdue reminded staff how hard it has been to hire lifeguards in recent years and he encouraged them to get an early start on it.
This week, county staff did just that – announcing a job fair for lifeguards and pool managers in an attempt to avoid what happened a couple of years ago.
In 2022, Guilford County was unable to open its pools on time due to a lack of lifeguards. In order for that not to happen again, the county is holding a job fair in March to fill lifeguard and pool manager positions at Bur-Mil Park, Hagan-Stone Park and Northeast Park.
The salary starts at what the county is calling “a competitive rate of $15 per hour” for the jobs that offer “an excellent entry point” into the parks’ employment ladder for people 15 years of age and older.
As part of the training, the county is providing free American Red Cross Lifeguarding Certification and CPR and defibrillator training.
Guilford County Parks Assistant Director Anthony Ellison said the jobs help the teens mature in addition to providing them with some walking around money.
“Lifeguarding teaches teenagers and young adults a great deal of responsibility and makes for a great first job to lay the foundation of what is to be expected in the work force,” Ellison stated.
Lifeguards with two years of lifeguarding experience and one year of supervisory experience are able to apply for pool manager positions at the county’s pools. Those jobs offer a starting salary of $18.50 an hour.
All applicants must apply online at https://bit.ly/24GCPSumJobs before attending one of the county’s hiring events.
Those events will be held as follows:
• Wednesday, March 20, In-Person Interviews: 9 a.m. – 11 a.m.
Truist Building, 3rd Floor, McAdoo Room, 201 W. Market St. in Greensboro
• Wednesday, March 20, Virtual Interviews 4 p.m. – 6 p.m.
• Saturday, March 23, In-Person Interviews: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Truist Building, 3rd Floor, McAdoo Room, 201 W. Market St. in Greensboro