Become a Swimming Teacher

Here is Gina’s Story on how she became a swimming teacher to earn some money for her family:

The first thing you need to know is that you don’t have to have any qualifications or experience to be a swimming teacher and they are in high demand so even better.

I have been teaching for nearly two years and have two children, one in grade 1 and one 3 year old and it has worked out perfectly for me.

The first thing you need to do is enrol in a Austswim teacher of swimming and water safety course which is only 1 weekend and costs around $300 and you will also need to have a current CPR certificate. The course is very easy it is a lot of common sense things and you only have to swim say 20 metres, you can find out more information on their website as its Australia wide, the instructors are great and help you through it.

Once you have completed this course you need to do about 20-40 hours of prac in the water with a qualified teacher. These hours are for free but the quicker you do them the sooner you are qualified. A good tip is try to do the prac hours at a centre where you want to work as you will have more chance of getting a job there as you all get to know one another.

Picking the right centre is essential with small children as some don’t offer crÃ¨che and also so the opening hours suit you as well. I only work in the mornings from 9-12 as this suits me best, I have the opportunity to do the afternoons after school but choose not to and also there would be weekend shifts available where dads can be sitters if that suits. Also you can do as many days as you like you won’t need to do 5 but the option may be there, depending on the centre. Our crÃ¨che charges $1 per an hour for staff children so even better. Usually in private swim schools they close down for school holidays so even though you don’t get paid you won’t have to worry about day care etc for your children over the holidays.

The pay rates are pretty good, they vary from $19 up to $26 per lesson so you can also choose what centre you like according to the pay rates as I have said teachers are in high demand.

As your children move into full time school there is more opportunity to do more hours for the education department and teach the school kids in school time.

I find the job very rewarding, I love interacting with children and singing songs with the babies and having fun. I don’t feel like it’s a job as I get to play/teach the children and babies and generally have a good time.

Guest Blog by Gina Tribbeck

Where Can I Get More Information?