Swim instructor work opportunities in Surrey, BC

Independent · Contractor · Part-time · Full-time

A Propel instructor teaching an adult to swim

Teaching with Propel

Get started

Who we are

Propel is a fast-growing company on a mission to change how the world learns to swim. Founded by swim instructors who had spent years inside the old system, we set out to break a status quo that left families on endless waitlists and instructors undervalued. In doing so we created something that did not exist before, and today we lead it: a new industry of swim instructors who independently teach on their own terms.

Who you are

You put in your time on the pool deck and taught more kids to swim than you can count. You know your craft and you don't need micromanaging. You are ready for more.

  • You enjoy teaching others the lifelong skill of swimming
  • You're a great communicator and love working with people
  • You're independent and can manage your time effectively

What you'll be responsible for

During lessons you run, you'll own every swimmer's experience from start to finish.

  • Keep your students safe, providing hands-on support throughout each lesson
  • Run effective lessons using your own style and teaching framework
  • Take each swimmer toward a goal, from absolute beginner to vacation swimmer

What qualifications you'll need

  • A recognized swim instructor certification (Lifesaving Society Swim Instructor, YMCA, or equivalent)
  • At least one year of paid experience teaching swim lessons

Why you'll love it

When people book lessons on Propel, they don't sign up to learn from whoever is scheduled to teach Level 3. Instead they choose you as their instructor. The students who start with you, stay with you, and you can take them from absolute beginner all the way to vacation-ready swimmer. Along the way you'll run into challenges: fear of water, bad habits to fix, and skills that plateau. It's up to you to break through those barriers, and when you do, the reward is knowing you changed lives while receiving gratitude from those you've helped. The day-to-day is good too:

  • Set your own schedule, teaching only when it fits your life
  • Teach 1 or 2 students at a time in quiet private pools
  • Give feedback how you see fit: out loud, on paper, or by DM
  • Earn more. Instructors took home an average of $52/hr in 2025

Our commitment to inclusion

You belong here. Propel welcomes instructors of every background and identity, and we want everyone, instructors and students alike, to feel safe, respected, and free to be themselves. We especially love the ones who never quite fit the mold elsewhere: if you teach with your own curriculum, your own framework, your own style, this is where it belongs.

Join our community

Comparing Surrey swim instructor opportunities

Propel is one of several ways to teach swimming in Surrey. Municipal public pools the YMCA are good entry points if you are brand new, since neither requires prior experience. Once you have a year of teaching behind you, though, Propel leads on nearly everything that follows: higher pay, your own schedule, the students you choose, your own clients, and the freedom to start right away. Here is how they compare.

PropelCity of SurreyTong Louie Family YMCA
Required certifications
  • Lifesaving Society Swim Instructor or
  • YMCA Swim Instructor or
  • Equivalent
  • Lifesaving Society Swim Instructor and
  • Standard First Aid w CPR-C/AED and
  • National Lifeguard (Pool)
  • YMCA Swim Instructor Full Course and
  • Standard First Aid w CPR-C/AED and
  • National Lifeguard (Pool)
Experience required1 year minimumNo minimumNo minimum
When can you startYear round, anytime3 to 4 times a yearSeasonal hiring windows
Starting hoursSet your own schedule anytimeUsually evenings and weekendsAssigned, often seasonal
Compensation$52/hr (avg take-home in 2025)$30.92/hr (advanced aquatic instructor)Minimum wage (varies)
Who you'll teach2yrs+, any level you chooseRotated class assignmentsProgram-assigned
Students per hour1 or 2Up to 16 (8 per half hour)Up to 16 (8 per half hour)
Teach your own clients?Yes, bring outside clients anytimeNo, outside clients are not permittedNo, outside clients are not permitted
Insurance coverage$10,000,000UnknownUnknown

New to aquatics? All three paths start with the same certifications. See our guide on how to become a lifeguard or swimming instructor, or learn more about teaching with Propel.

Teaching with the City of Surrey

Teaching for the City of Surrey is a structured municipal path that rewards patience and tenure. Getting hired is competitive and slow, with only a few intakes a year, and once you are in, these are unionized roles where seniority governs your hours, your schedule, and how far you advance. There is a real career ladder at the top, but the best-paid roles require a degree and years of experience.

The application process

Getting hired into Surrey aquatics can take awhile; the City only runs dedicated lifeguard/swim‑instructor intake a few times a year, and each posting is open for just 2 weeks, so missing that window can mean waiting for the next season. Once you apply with all current certifications, you move through several distinct stages—screening, physical standards and wet‑skills testing, interview, and the required Police Information Check with Vulnerable Sector Check—which recent recruitment timelines suggest can stretch over a couple of months from start to finish. It is a structured municipal process with clear steps, but the cadence is slow enough that you need to be prepared for some waiting and planning around each stage.

Building seniority

Entry‑level lifeguard/instructor roles are unionized CUPE 402 auxiliary positions, where seniority governs access to hours, scheduling preferences, and movement into higher classifications. Pay in these early roles sits in the mid‑$20s per hour, and reaching more specialized roles such as Advanced Aquatic Instructor at $30.92/hr typically comes after accumulating experience, additional training, and time in the system rather than through quick promotion. For someone aiming to move beyond casual work, the model favours instructors who are willing to stay multiple seasons, consistently pick up shifts, and let seniority build over the long term.

Long‑term career opportunities

At the top of this track, Community Services Coordinator 2 – Aquatics roles are regular CUPE 402 positions paying roughly $43.49–$50.90 per hour, which is a solid municipal salary band for recreation work. However, postings specify completion of a recognized university or college program plus about four years of progressively responsible experience, and the duties focus on supervising staff, managing programs and facilities, and handling budgets rather than front‑line teaching. For an aquatics professional, that means the higher pay is real, but getting there typically involves years of cumulative deck‑level work, leadership development, and then a transition into a more administrative, coordination‑focused role.

Teaching with Tong Louie Family YMCA

Teaching for the YMCA in Surrey is a part-time, prove-yourself path that builds over time. Hiring runs through a structured online process where only shortlisted candidates move forward, and early roles are part-time hours pieced together across mornings, evenings, and weekends. You earn standing by staying flexible, showing up, and stacking credentials, with the YMCA favouring its own people for advancement. There is a genuine career ladder, but the better-paid roles are supervisory and managerial, asking for years of experience and a degree before moving you off the pool deck into administration.

The application process

Hiring runs through a standard online process. For Surrey, you apply to a Lifeguard/Swim Instructor posting at the Tong Louie Family YMCA through a job board or the YMCA's ADP careers portal, get an automated confirmation, and only shortlisted candidates are contacted. Screening verifies your current National Lifeguard, Standard First Aid with CPR-C, and swim instructor certifications, collects three professional references, and requires a Criminal Record Check with Vulnerable Sector Search from within the last six months. Many postings are listed as ongoing, and the process is structured and multi-step rather than a casual walk-in.

Building seniority

Early roles are part-time, commonly 4 to 24 hours a week across mornings, evenings, and weekends, with the work mixing guarding and teaching lessons. Full-time front-line jobs exist but are occasional; most staff start on part-time or mixed hours and gain stability by reliably picking up more shifts. The YMCA leans on internal progression and perks like free membership, training, and reduced childcare, and tends to favour internal applicants for new roles. Building seniority means staying flexible about early mornings and weekends, showing up consistently, and stacking extra credentials such as aquatic-fitness or leadership awards. Becoming competitive for a supervisory role typically takes around five years on deck plus a couple in supervision.

Long-term career opportunities

There is a real ladder above front-line work. An Aquatics Supervisor, like the full-time role advertised at the Tong Louie Family YMCA, earns roughly $65,000 to $68,500 a year with benefits, but the job is scheduling and supervising staff, payroll, recruiting, and safety compliance, and it expects about five years on deck plus two in supervision. Above that, a centre Aquatics Manager in Surrey runs budgets and larger teams for around $75,000 to $80,000 with a bachelor's degree, and an association-level lead oversees aquatics strategy across four to seven pools. The pay is genuine, but reaching it means a multi-year climb off the pool deck into administration and staff leadership.

Common questions about swim instructor jobs in Surrey

How much do swim instructors make in Surrey?+

It depends on the path. A City of Surrey auxiliary aquatic instructor earns $30.92/hr on a fixed union scale, and YMCA roles are part-time or seasonal at a wage that varies. Teaching independently on Propel, you set your own rate; instructors took home an estimated $52/hr on average in 2025. Your actual earnings vary with your price, availability, and demand.

What certifications do you need to teach swimming in Surrey?+

All three paths expect a recognized swim instructor award, most commonly the Lifesaving Society Swim Instructor certification. The City of Surrey and the YMCA also require lifeguarding credentials, the National Lifeguard (Pool) award and Standard First Aid with CPR-C and AED, because their staff both teach and guard. Propel asks only for the swim instructor certification, since you teach private lessons rather than guard a public pool.

Do you need to be a lifeguard to teach swimming in Surrey?+

No, teaching swimming and lifeguarding are separate qualifications. Teaching requires a swim instructor certification; lifeguarding requires the National Lifeguard award. The City of Surrey and the YMCA ask for both because their staff teach lessons and guard open swims at the same facility. If you only want to teach, a swim instructor certification is the credential that matters.

Is it worth getting certified to teach swimming in Surrey?+

It depends on how much you plan to teach and which path you take. A swim instructor certification has an upfront course cost and needs renewing periodically, so a few casual hours may not justify it. But the same credential opens every path, and earnings differ widely: City of Surrey pay is fixed in the low-$30s, while independent instructors on Propel set their own rate and averaged an estimated $52/hr in 2025.

How do you get your first swim instructor job in Surrey with no experience?+

Start with the City of Surrey or the YMCA, since neither requires prior teaching experience; they hire newly certified staff and train through a screening process. Get your swim instructor and lifeguarding certifications current, then apply during a hiring window and prepare for the in-water skills screen. Propel is the next step: once you have about a year of teaching behind you, you can teach independently and set your own rate.

What are the hours and shifts like for swim instructors in Surrey?+

They vary by employer. City of Surrey and YMCA roles lean on evenings, early mornings, and full weekends, often as part-time or seasonal shifts assigned to you, which can work around school if you can cover those times. Teaching independently on Propel is different: you set your own availability and teach only when it suits you, year-round, rather than picking up assigned shifts.

Can you teach private swim lessons on your own in Surrey?+

Yes, but teaching truly on your own means arranging pool access and your own liability insurance, and most public pools prohibit paid private instruction during public swims, so you need the facility operator's permission. Propel is the simpler route: you can teach private lessons in partnered Surrey pools, set your own schedule, and Propel's platform handles bookings, payments, and up to $10,000,000 of insurance for a 16% booking fee.

How does teaching for the City of Surrey compare to the YMCA?+

Both are structured, credential-heavy paths that combine teaching with lifeguarding. The City of Surrey offers unionized auxiliary roles where seniority governs your hours and pay rises slowly on a fixed scale toward about $30.92/hr. The YMCA hires part-time and seasonal staff and leans on an internal ladder into supervisory roles. Both hire only in set windows, so timing your application matters.

What is the hiring process like for swim instructor jobs in Surrey?+

For the City of Surrey, expect a multi-stage process: apply with current certifications during a roughly two-week window, then move through physical and in-water skills testing, an interview, references, and a Police Information Check with vulnerable sector screening, which can take about three months. The YMCA runs a similar online application with references and a criminal record check. On Propel there is no hiring cycle: you create a profile, do a short orientation call, and can be booked right away.

Start teaching in Surrey

Join a community of like-minded, independent swim instructors, who each teach their own way in a network of private pools across Canada.

Sign up to teach on Propel

City of Surrey figures as of 2026-06-15, surrey.ca. YMCA figures from recent YMCA BC job postings. Propel earnings are estimated take-home pay based on historical instructor earnings across the platform; actual earnings vary with your price, availability, location, season, and demand.

Help

© 2026 Propel HQ Inc.
Made with ❤️ in Canada