Do you need a lifeguard certification to teach swimming in Richmond?+
Not for every route. Richmond publishes a teaching-only municipal role: the Swimming Instructor position requires Bronze Medallion, Bronze Cross, Standard First Aid with CPR-C and AED, and the Swim for Life Instructor award, and no lifeguarding award at all (City of Richmond, as of 2026-08-31). Neighbouring Delta publishes a similar teaching-only class, its Aquatic Instructor role, which asks for a Lifesaving Society Swim Instructor certification and nothing more (as of 2026-09-01). Richmond's Instructor/Lifeguard roles are the other side of that split, and they require two National Lifeguard awards rather than one. On Propel, a recognized swim instructor certification is what matters, because you teach private lessons rather than guard a public pool. If your goal is to teach and not to guard, the Swimming Instructor route with the City and teaching on Propel are the two paths that do not put a National Lifeguard award between you and your first lesson.
How much do swim instructors make in Richmond, BC?+
It depends on the route, and the municipal answer cannot be quoted precisely right now. The City's last published wage table, effective 2023-01-01, put Junior Instructor/Lifeguard at $22.12/hr and Instructor/Lifeguard 1 at $28.89 to $33.97/hr. A 2024 memorandum of agreement sets general wage increases through 2027, but the consolidated agreement has not been published, so no current rate is quotable from a City or union document (checked 2026-08-31). Delta, next door, does publish: its Fall 2026 postings listed Lifeguard/Instructor 2 at $28.97 to $33.92/hr and its teaching-only Aquatic Instructor at $27.78 to $32.57/hr (as of 2026-09-01). Instructors on Propel set their own rate and took home an average of $52/hr in 2025, an average across all experience levels rather than a starting rate.
Why does Richmond require two National Lifeguard awards?+
Because of what is in the water. Richmond's guard stream requires National Lifeguard Pool and National Lifeguard Waterpark, which no other city we have researched asks for as a baseline (as of 2026-08-31). Watermania has two waterslides and a wave pool alongside its 57 metre competition pool, and Minoru has a river run, a slide and a drop slide with a 1.5 metre free fall. The Waterpark option covers that kind of feature. Practically it adds a course to your path: the City lists the Waterpark option at 24 hours of course time, priced at $342.86 in its own registration calendar on 2026-08-31. Richmond even sells a combination Pool and Waterpark recertification for $257.14, which only an employer requiring both awards would need.
Can City of Richmond aquatic staff teach private swim lessons on the side?+
That is a question for the City, and its own policy is the place to start. Council Policy 6801 applies to all employees and states that "an Employee shall not engage in any outside employment ... that conflicts with his or her duties as an Employee", lists among the situations where a conflict of interest exists one where "the Employee's outside interest involves work that is in direct competition with services offered by the City", and states that "the City may prohibit outside employment that causes the Employee to be in a Conflict of Interest" (Policy 6801, adopted 2008-07-28, as of 2026-08-31). The City sells private and semi-private swim lessons for ages 3 and up. The policy does not name swim instruction, and no published City determination applying it to swim teaching was found. If you work for the City, ask your supervisor before taking outside teaching work.
What does it cost to get certified to teach swimming in Richmond?+
The City is the training provider, and its published course prices let you add it up. On 2026-08-31 the City's aquatics registration calendar listed Bronze Medallion at $248.60, Bronze Cross at about $237.35, Swim for Life Instructor at $638.10, National Lifeguard Pool at about $566.67, National Lifeguard Waterpark at about $342.86, and the Lifesaving Instructor upgrade at $380.95. That puts the teaching-only Swimming Instructor route near $1,124 and the full Instructor/Lifeguard 1 route near $2,415, before Standard First Aid, whose price the City does not publish in that calendar. The City also publishes course hours: 180 hours of classroom and pool time to reach Instructor/Lifeguard 1. The City runs a subsidy program covering up to 90% of course fees for lower-income residents aged 13 and up, though its page listed it as paused on 2026-08-31.
When does the City of Richmond hire swim instructors?+
Continuously. The City's aquatic recruitment card states "hiring is ongoing throughout the year", and its aquatics jobs page asks candidates to sign up for job notifications rather than watch for a dated intake (as of 2026-08-31). That differs from the batch hiring windows common elsewhere in the region. In practice it means there may be no aquatic posting visible on the careers board on the day you look: on 2026-08-31 there were 18 open external City positions and none were aquatic. Applications run through chooserichmond.ca. If you are waiting on a notification, teaching on Propel is something you can start in the meantime, since there is no hiring cycle to time.
How do you get hours as an auxiliary instructor in Richmond?+
Through a scheduling structure the collective agreement spells out in unusual detail. Auxiliary Instructor/Lifeguard shifts are assigned across six scheduling periods a year: four longer seasonal periods plus two short ones matching the Richmond School District's spring and winter breaks. Order of assignment runs regular part-time staff seeking extra hours first, then auxiliaries on the Priority Scheduling List, then everyone else. Getting onto that list takes 1,200 Instructor/Lifeguard hours, and staying on it takes at least 400 hours in the prior year. The list is rebuilt four times a year (CUPE 718 Schedule "F", as of 2026-08-31). Until you clear 1,200 hours, your access to shifts sits behind two other groups. On Propel the sequencing is different: you publish your availability and people book you directly.
Is there a YMCA in Richmond, and where else can you teach nearby?+
There is no YMCA in Richmond. YMCA BC's location list contains no Richmond site; the nearest YMCA aquatic employers are Robert Lee and Langara in Vancouver, Bettie Allard in Coquitlam, and Tong Louie Family YMCA in Surrey (as of 2026-08-31). The Richmond Olympic Oval, despite the name, has no pool either; its published facility list is courts, track, ice and fitness. Richmond Kigoos Swim Club is a nonprofit run by a volunteer parent board that rents the City's Steveston pool rather than employing guards. So the in-city options are the City of Richmond, private swim schools that rent non-municipal water, and teaching on your own terms. Across the tunnel, the City of Delta runs three indoor pools and hires in dated seasonal cohorts, with an optional stroke and skill screening and a compulsory wet and dry interview day before offers go out (as of 2026-09-01).
Can you teach private swim lessons on your own in Richmond?+
Yes, though doing it entirely alone means solving pool access, insurance, bookings and payments yourself. Richmond publishes no aquatic conduct page stating whether paid private instruction is permitted during public swim at City pools, so you would need the facility operator's permission in writing before teaching at one. Propel is the simpler route: you teach in partner pools in Richmond, set your own rate and availability, keep the clients you bring, and Propel handles bookings, payments and up to $10,000,000 of insurance for a 16% booking fee. Instructors on Propel took home an average of $52/hr in 2025. That is an average of rates instructors set themselves, not a guaranteed wage, and your earnings vary with your price, availability, location, season and demand.
