Blacktown City Council has partnered with Royal Life Saving NSW to deliver a new Swim Teacher course to anyone interested in becoming a qualified 'Learn to Swim Instructor'.
The course provides participants with skills and knowledge to effectively and safely teach swimming and water safety skills to school aged children. It was offered free to eligible candidates as part of the NSW Government's Skilling for Recovery program.
Council's 'Blacktown Key Venues' section hosted the course at Blacktown Leisure Centre Stanhope.
Over 25 people signed up for the free course, including Blacktown Key Venues staff and swim school parents.
Blacktown City Mayor Tony Bleasdale OAM said "We continue to drive the message that learning to swim is a life skill, which is why we also believe in training and up-skilling in hope that we will see the next group of Learn to Swim Instructors enter the industry.
Recent data trends released by Royal Life Saving NSW and the Aquatic & Recreation Institute shows a 40% fall in swimming lesson enrolments in Metropolitan Sydney over the past 12 months.
The closure of aquatic centres in March 2020 had a significant impact on enrolments and recovery to pre-COVID numbers has been a slow process while operating under COVID restrictions.
The impact of falling enrolments means children are missing out on learning vital survival skills.
"We need to continue fostering these partnerships and working with industry bodies such as Royal Life Saving NSW to deliver important courses such as this. It will allow us to continue working towards promoting a positive future of swimming for fun and water safety" said Mayor Bleasdale.
