Students Certified as Lifeguards

Fourteen students at the Rhodes Hall High School in Orange Bay, Hanover received certificates under the Jamaica Centre for Tourism and Innovation’s (JCTI) pilot Lifeguard Training Programme for high school students.

The programme aims to increase the number of certified lifeguards in the area.

During the awards ceremony held at the institution on Thursday (May 9), nine students received certification in lifeguarding, standard first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), while five received certificates for standard first aid and CPR.

The students were awarded certificates from the Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS), which is internationally recognized.

The initiative, funded by the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) at a cost of over $4 million, was undertaken in collaboration with the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association’s (JHTA’s) Negril Chapter and the Negril Wave Runners Swim Club.

As part of the six-month long course, students received swim training, training in water safety, CPR, first aid, rescue techniques and ethics.

Executive Director of the TEF, Dr. Carey Wallace told JIS News that the funding provided will cover the outgoing and incoming cohorts of the training programme.

He informed that the JHTA’s Negril Chapter recommended the participation of Rhodes Hall High School in the programme.

Dr. Wallace noted that the institution was a fitting choice, considering the school’s proximity to the hotel belt in Negril, Westmoreland.

He stated that the students, who will officially graduate from the programme during the JCTI’s upcoming graduation ceremony, are already getting called for job interviews.

“It’s the exact funnel that I wanted to see where we upskill our young Jamaicans and it’s a clear passage into the industry, that’s exactly what we wanted to see happen. It was money well spent taking many of them from not being able to swim at all, and now they have certification from the RLSS, its international certification,” he stated.

Dr. Wallace pointed out that as the number of hotels and the demand for water sports continue to grow on the island, the more human resources that can be upskilled in those areas, the better it augurs for Jamaica.

Meanwhile, Principal of Rhodes Hall High, Bernadette Deans, expressed her elation that the school was chosen to be the first to benefit from the training programme.

“I am thankful to everyone for the role you each played in helping these students dreams become a reality. Team Rhodes Hall High School lifeguards is now a brand for life,” she said.