32 SWIMMING
sportsmanagement.co.uk Issue 121 • 30 May 2016
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FOUNDATIONS
he 2015 Industry Swimming Teachers Recruitment Survey by the Swimming Teachers’ Association (STA) found that 72 per cent of swim schools in the UK have a waiting list for lesson spaces. Worryingly, however, more than 81 per cent of the 229 swim schools surveyed said they could not find appropriately qualified swimming teaching staff to meet this demand. In five regions – London, North East, East Anglia, Wales and the North of England – every single swim school operator responding to the survey said it could not find the right recruits, while 71 per cent said the difficulty in finding appropriate staff was affecting their business growth plans. The survey quantifies a problem for which there is plenty of anecdotal evidence – a desperate shortage of qualified swimming teachers in the UK. At best, it’s an issue which is hitting the bottom lines of pool operators and swim schools hoping to grow their businesses. At worst, it is putting lives at risk.
Half of 11-year-olds in the UK cannot swim 25 metres – the minimum distance set by government. A major contributor to this is an acute lack of teachers Tom Walker • managing editor • Sports Management
When asked to provide comments to the STA survey, one respondent offered a chilling view: “I’ve been teaching for 40 years and this is the worst I have seen it when it comes to children’s ability to swim.”
MULTIPLE ISSUES More than 81 per cent of swim schools could not find appropriately qualified staff
DOTSHOCK / SHUTTERSTOCK
“There are a number of factors that have impacted on the recruitment of swimming teachers over the years,” says Steve Franks, managing director of Water Babies – a nationwide, franchise-based swim school for infants and toddlers. “For example, the continued confusion that exists across the sports and leisure industry sector on the relative merits of broadly similar swimming teaching qualifications being awarded by the various vocational awarding bodies – mainly the ASA and STA. “This is then further compounded by employers setting internal policy preferences on which vocational swimming teaching qualification they are prepared to accept. This can have a huge impact on the individual who has funded their own swimming teaching training, only to find that their preferred local employer will not recognise their qualification.” STA chief executive Dave Candler recognises the confusion around the compatibility of qualifications. “Some operators are making recruiting harder
Turn over: Andy Reed’s column on the Sport England strategy