A statewide lifeguard shortage has one local county trying something new this year. Waukesha County will pay for certification classes for its applicants, as long as they meet other basic requirements.
The county is still looking to hire about 10 lifeguards for the summer to watch over beaches at Fox Brook, Menomonee, Muskego and Naga-Waukee Parks.
Even though the job pays above minimum wage, most places are having trouble filling positions.
"We come here a couple times a week during the summer especially," said Amanda Urrea, who visited Fox Brook Park with her three young children on Wednesday.
She says she knows how important it is to have lifeguards nearby.
"We take them for swimming lessons but they’re still young children," she said. "It’s always an issue to think about their safety."
A statewide shortage of lifeguards led to a law change this year in Wisconsin, lowering the minimum age for a lifeguard to 15, but only for pools and water parks.
"You have to be 16 to guard at a lakefront," said Emily Heller with Waukesha County Parks and Land Use.
She says to fill their vacant positions, they hoped paying for certification classes will help.
"We were hoping that the incentive to have a free certification would allow the candidates that hadn’t been certified yet to get a jump start on that and join us," she said.
Emily McMeans is already getting certified through her school and applied for a lifeguard job at a recruitment fair held by Waukesha County on Wednesday.
"I wasn’t necessarily looking solely at a life-guarding job but after I heard they had a shortage, I thought I’d come check it out," she said. "We get so few months of warm in Wisconsin and so I want to soak it all up."
Waukesha County will hold a second lifeguard job fair at Fox Brook Park on May 9 from 5 to 8 p.m.
More information about Waukesha County job openings can be found here.
