DIVING INTO A FUTURE

THE AQUATICS ADVANTAGE

Swimming pools and leisure centres are great at nurturing the future workforce of the physical activity sector. WellNation 󹀼 nds out how a number of current sector leaders have made the jump from poolside to the boardroom

For some, the chlorine filled air of a swimming pool might seem an unlikely place to begin a career, but for thousands of people across the UK, it’s precisely where their professional journeys take shape. Lifeguard and swimming teacher roles serve as far more than summer or student jobs; they’re powerful stepping stones into careers. Research from The Institute of Swimming (IOS) underscores this transformative impact, with its 2025 survey revealing an impressive 87% of swimming teachers aged 16-18 believing the role has boosted their confi dence when applying for other jobs or educational opportunities. Even among the 19-25 age group, 82% report the same confidence-building effect – young professionals have discovered the skills learned poolside translate remarkably well when looking for employment within the leisure sector and beyond.

But what is it that makes aquatics such fertile training ground? According to Rebecca Cox, the Managing Director of Institute of Swimming, who also started her career as a lifeguard and swimming teacher, the answer may lie in the unique combination of responsibility, communication and staying calm under pressure these roles demand. “A lifeguard doesn’t just watch swimmers,” Cox says. “They assess risk, make split-second decisions and maintain authority while keeping an environment welcoming.

“A lifeguard doesn’t just watch swimmers, They assess risk, make split-second decisions and maintain authority while keeping an environment welcoming.” REBECCA COX

“Swimming teachers develop aquatic skills, they adapt their communication style to different learning abilities, manage groups and build confi dence in others, often while dealing with the pressure of parents watching from the sidelines. These entry level jobs in aquatics require a level of responsibility and interpersonal skills that create a professional maturity employers, regardless of sector, recognise and value.”

In an economy hungry for confident, capable young professionals, our pools and leisure centres aren’t just keeping communities active, they’re quietly nurturing the workforce of tomorrow. For young people ready to dive into their future, there’s no shallow end to the opportunities that await.

The path from pool to long-term, high-level career is well-trodden, as these well-known industry names demonstrate.

Tara Dillon CEO CIMSPA

Dillon trained as a lifeguard 39 years ago while studying for her A Levels and started working at the Oasis Leisure Centre in Swindon. She says: “I absolutely loved it! I enjoyed working in a team and having some money in my back pocket, so when I was offered further training to become a swimming teacher and a fitness instructor I jumped at the chance. I was picking up so many hours I didn’t go to university in the end. I didn’t need to. I had the world at my feet.

“Even today, there are skills I learnt back as a teenager that I use every day. Aquatics is such a perfect entry point into a working life, both in our sector and beyond. Being a lifeguard or swimming teacher gives you a head start, it gives you ‘Life 101’, the skills that can’t betaught in school or from a book. I know if I meet someone that started work in aquatics they will be a good team player, that they can communicate, they are adaptable and they are calm under pressure. How many careers require those skills? I’d say all of them. Due to my grounding and where my career started it’s now my life’s work to ensure the leisure sector supports and develops its workforce, continually providing opportunities to ensure our people are the experts society needs.”

It gives you ‘Life 101’, the skills that can’t be taught in school or from a book

NKatie Towner Director of Operations AP RACE ow the Director of Operations for AP Race, Katie’s professional journey started with summer shifts at her local pool. “I guess you could say I wasn’t really academic. I lacked direction and despite starting AS and A Levels, it didn’t feel like the right fit,” she explains. “I hated my part-time job in a department store, so when I saw my local leisure centre was looking for lifeguards I begged my dad to pay for the training. I loved the buzz and the atmosphere of being at a leisure centre, it was so much more interesting than selling old ladies’ clothes!

“I started working at the pool more and more and really enjoyed how being a lifeguard gave me opportunities to help other departments – whether that was reception or supporting duty managers. So when tmactive offered to fund my Institute of Swimming training to gain my Swim England teaching qualifications I jumped at the chance. I realised I wasn’t going back to college and didn’t have aspirations to go to university. All this time I had been looking for my future, but I had already found my career destiny.”

Katie’s career soon took off; from lifeguard to swimming teacher, then assistant aquatics officer to working as Head of Learn to Swim at Swim England and now AP Race. She says: “There’s so much you can do with a career that starts in aquatics, both within and outside the sector. I can still see the skills I learnt as a teenager in the work I do now. Being a lifeguard or swimming teacher as a young person gives you confidence – in your own ability, to speak to people, and to think quickly on your feet.”

There’s so much you can do with a career that starts in aquatics, both within and outside the sector

“IHannah Smith National Aquatic Business Manager FREEDOM LEISURE started volunteering at my swimming club when I was 11, helping the younger children develop their skills. I loved it, and when I was 16 I gained my formal swimming teacher and lifeguard qualifications and immediately began paid employment while studying for my A Levels. Working at the pool always felt like a safe and welcoming environment, so when I went to university it was comforting to be able to pick up aquatics work there too and still teach swimming back home during weekends and holidays.”

Working in aquatics means Hannah has never stopped learning: “Every role has been a stepping stone to my next challenge. At just 20 I became the youngest Swim England tutor in the country at the time, teaching the next generation of swimming teachers. As a tutor, the small teaching groups are brilliant because you can really support people.

“I learned so much in that role, especially that not everyone learns or solves problems the same way. I could be teaching anyone from 16-year-olds right through to people in their seventies and beyond. Neurodiverse learners and practical learners too. Many of our most successful instructors are neurodiverse and bring that different perspective to their teaching.

“Being a tutor gave me tremendous confidence. Despite being shy as a child, I have no problem speaking to large crowds. But I think the most striking aspect of my career journey is how early engagement provided such significant advantages. By the time I graduated from university at 21, I already had almost a decade’s experience in teaching and tutoring. I had gained tremendous confidence and built valuable industry connections that would serve me throughout my career. It’s shaped who I am today and I couldn’t recommend it more highly as a career path.”

It’s shaped who I am today and I couldn’t recommend it more highly as a career path

SSteve May CEO MYTIME ACTIVE teve May’s recent appointment as CEO of Mytime Active saw his career come full circle, from teenage lifeguard at

Mytime Active’s Walnuts Leisure Centre to leading the entire charitable organisation.

May says: “I loved being a lifeguard, it was great to work in such a safe space and earn money. It felt very grown up. Although I was interested in sport as a young person, I had no idea that my teenage weekend job would ultimately kick start my career. I still enjoy being poolside and checking in with our lifeguards.

“The leisure industry has always been accessible; there are few barriers to entry. We’ll train you and provide everything you need to do the job. All you need to bring is an open mind and willingness and we can develop internal pathways to progress you to a duty manager, an operations manager or even a chief executive, just as I’ve done.

All you need to bring is an open mind and willingness

“But many people begin as lifeguards or swimming teachers before changing tack and following careers into roles such as paramedics, firefighters or police officers. Rather than seeing this as a loss, we should embrace our role in this ecosystem. Ultimately, the leisure sector is fantastic at supporting professional development, providing valuable life skills that benefit people whether they remain in leisure or move to other sectors. Working in aquatics creates futures.”

AAlly Whike Sport Development Director SWIM ENGLAND lly’s career includes previous roles as the Director of Aquatics and the Performance Director at Scottish Swimming. However, he first trained to become a swimming teacher when he was just 16, whilst studying for exams at his high school.

He says: “I did my training as soon as I could. I didn’t think of it as the launchpad for my career; it was just that I loved to swim and enjoyed helping people, it was the right place for me to be.

“The pool isn’t what a teenager would typically imagine as a workplace, but you’re learning lots about how to interact, engage and communicate with people, adjusting your style to make sure people understand you. You learn quite a lot of life lessons while teaching swimming, like patience and dealing with the person who’s in front of you, because all kids are different. It’s a big responsibility for anyone, especially as a teenager.

It’s a big responsibility for anyone, especially as a teenager

“Yes, being a swimming teacher as a teen pays good money and offers good hours, but what’s really important is embracing the moment of helping someone achieve something. It offers so many pathways to success too. Obviously within the sector, but also as the foundation for lots of other careers. The skills you learn as a swimming teacher underpin everything you do, especially when you work to develop people, regardless of the industry.”