Taiwan is having an acute shortage of lifeguards, due to unsatisfactory wages and legal worries, Control Yuan member Fan Sun-lu (范巽綠) said.
Lifeguard examination required for government certification by the Sports Administration which started in 2020, and the administration’s ban of all other tests by the private sector had a role in the shortage, Fan said in a report.
Experts and researchers said the government exam excludes the private sector and costs more, while the pass rate is lower, Fan said, adding that the standards are unrealistic.
Photo: Taipei Times file
The administration, which falls under the Ministry of Education, lacks well-updated data on the situation of lifeguards across the country, as it has conducted one survey targeting lifeguards since 2020, which received 337 responses, she said, adding that 70 percent of the respondents were active while 30 percent had already quit the job.
Lack of job stability, unsatisfactory salary, heavy workload, legal risks and starting another job due to the COVID-19 pandemic were among the reasons given by respondents who quit or have considered quitting, Fan said.
“Pool operators, those businesses needing to watch over swimmers at lakes and the seashore, in recent years had to rely mainly on young student groups who had just obtained certification, to fill the shortage,” she said.
“To deal with the shortage, swimming pool operators, and lake and beach administrations have to rely on young students who have just received their certificates,” she said.
Fan urged the Executive Yuan and the ministry to address the shortcomings and made recommendations.
A new standardized test should be developed for lifeguard certification, and the ministry should delegate the exam to the private sector and inspect those institutions instead of banning them from holding exams, Fan said.
Some developed countries such as the US, Japan, the UK and Australia have examples of private institutions testing lifeguard candidates, Fan said, adding that the Sports Administration’s application virtually turned it into a monopoly and led to the nation’s personnel shortage.
Referring to data showing the majority of deaths caused by drowning taking place at rivers, seas and other bodies of open water, Fan said that the government agency in 2018 standardized lifeguard certification solely based on swimming pool environments.
“The exam mainly focuses on swimming skills and physical capacity, while ignoring practical experience and the ability to quickly adapt to ever-changing factors in open water bodies. It clearly does not meet what a lifeguard’s work requires,” Fan said.
“The Executive Yuan must take action on the issue and coordinate government agencies to conduct a comprehensive review to come up with new regulations which should include improving work conditions, increasing salaries, clarifying legal responsibilities... and revising the certification process, while better protecting lifeguards’ rights to heal the sector and make it sustainable,” Fan said.
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