Improvements to New Zealand Pool Lifeguard Qualifications

Skills Active and the New Zealand Recreation Association (NZRA) are improving the rules and requirements of the Pool Lifeguard Skills Award (PLSA) and Pool Lifeguard Practising Certificate (PLPC) qualifications.

Some of these changes include:

• Extending the validation period of the PLPC to two years. This will apply to current holders of the PLPC and Skills Active will re-issue new cards to current PLPC holders with an extended new expiry date over the next month;
• Restructuring the content of the PLSA and PLPC qualifications so that most of the training is front-loaded into the PLSA;
• Revising the training and assessment resources into one manual, with less assessor time and administration required (available from October 2012);
• No change to costs. In fact there will be a $25 saving per person as PLPC no longer requires annual re-validation;
• Developing a new Facility Guide on how to implement these qualifications efficiently;
• Expanding the timed swim conditions to include any swim stroke; and
• Extending the PLPC validation period from one to two years

The changes follow an industry survey undertaken earlier this year, with Skills Active now contacting each aquatics workplace with pool lifeguard who qualifies after 1st January 2010 to help them check their qualification data before new cards are issued.

Skills Active is also set to launch a new online register for the sport, fitness and recreation industries called the New Zealand Register of Recreation Professionals.

This register will replace the Pool Lifeguard register that was previously on Skills Active's website, and contains much more functionality.

For example, in the future professionals will be able to print out their own pool lifeguard information, and update lifeguard details, directly from and into the register.

For further information on the upcoming changes contact a Skills Active Learning Support Advisor on 0508 4 SKILLS (475 4557), E: info@skillsactive.org.nz