Outdoor pool season in danger: staff shortage hits the Southern Palatinate!

Outdoor pool season in danger: staff shortage hits the Southern Palatinate!

The outdoor swimming season in the Southern Palatinate faces major challenges. There are acute staff shortages in many pools, including the outdoor pool in Bad Bergzabern. This pool is currently completely closed, which is disrupting many families' summer plans. The situation is precarious, and the opening times of the pools that are still open have been drastically shortened in some cases Rhine Palatinate reported.

The weather may not be ideal, but the outdoor pool season is still considered important this July. However, the lack of qualified personnel is omnipresent. The President of the Federal Association of German Swimming Champions, Peter Harzheim, speaks of a problem that has existed for years and has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the energy crisis. This also points to this daily news there. The trend shows that fewer and fewer outdoor swimming pools can still open regularly, and where they do, this often only happens with restrictions.

The fight for the lifeguard

A particularly sensitive example is the outdoor swimming pool in Ostbevern, whose opening times are severely limited due to a lack of staff. Morning swimming has to be canceled entirely and the community is desperately looking for suitable lifeguards. We see something similar in other cities: In Wuppertal, for example, we are working with a security company to recruit appropriate specialists.

The reason for all these difficulties is manifold. Many trained professionals prefer to move into industry, where they can expect significantly better pay. Compared to salaries in the public sector, which range between 2,600 and 2,700 euros gross, many private pool operators are rated even lower, often around 2,000 euros gross. This leads to real cut-throat competition for the few available skilled workers, especially in smaller municipalities.

Long-term consequences for swimming culture

The prospect of having fun in the outdoor pool could therefore remain bleak. The long-term consequences of this trend are particularly worrying. Harzheim objects that the closures of pools not only affect the leisure aspect, but also endanger the ability of many children to swim. Fewer and fewer young people can swim, and that is a real loss for our cultural heritage.

It also shows that the transition of baby boomers into retirement is further exacerbating the situation. Experts recently reported that around 2,500 skilled workers will be urgently needed in the coming years to maintain outdoor and indoor swimming pools in Germany. The kommunal.de emphasizes that the job of lifeguard should not only be characterized by a high level of responsibility, but also by an appreciation that is often missed.

Municipalities are required to set new incentives. Some have already started raising salaries and offering additional benefits such as gas vouchers or assistance in finding housing. This is the only way to increase the attractiveness of the profession. Nevertheless, the question remains as to whether these measures are sufficient to get the impending shortage of skilled workers under control.

The fact is: the outdoor pool season in each summer month depends on the availability of qualified employees. And while July has already begun in the Southern Palatinate, we will have to see how many pools can remain open despite all the odds.