County recreation departments, nonprofit agencies and businesses report a constant demand for lifeguards at a time when fewer people are seeking lifeguard certification from the American Red Cross.

The number of newly certified lifeguards in Hawai'i dropped 23 percent in 2005-06 from the previous year, falling from 1,008 to 779, according to the state chapter of the American Red Cross, the nation's leading lifeguard training organization.

In addition, 30 percent fewer lifeguards sought recertification or review courses, declining from 785 to 545.

Mary Meinel, director of training and preparedness for the American Red Cross in Hawai'i, is puzzled by the decline, since youth lifeguard programs are as popular as ever. She said shorter summer breaks could be making fewer young people available for traditional seasonal jobs.

"They're finding it difficult to hire all of the part-time positions for parks and recreation during the summer, not just for the pools," Meinel said.

The national American Red Cross warned five years ago of a lifeguard shortage, citing competition from better paying and less strenuous jobs, fear of skin cancer and too few qualified swimmers.

Even in an island state, finding good swimmers is not as easy as one might expect.

"We've been seeing a lot weaker swimmers. Some people are coming in with the expectation that they'll be able to pass (the lifeguard certification class), but that's not necessarily the case," said Troy Tomita, aquatics director at the Nu'uanu YMCA, who handles staff scheduling for all of the Honolulu YMCA's seven pools. "Every class I run, there are people who drop out because they can't meet the minimum swimming standards."

There is a particular shortage of pool guards, since those positions usually offer lower pay and only part-time hours. Officials said those interested in a career in lifeguarding usually seek higher-paying and more prestigious jobs as ocean safety officers.

Honolulu's Ocean Safety and Lifeguard Services Division has 143 full-time lifeguards and 64 part-timers patrolling 19 beach parks, and an additional 20 positions were included in the latest city budget. Pool guards are managed separately by the Department of Parks and Recreation.

Ocean Safety Administrator Ralph Goto said that with a larger population to draw from, the city usually has an ample supply of candidates for its water safety officer recruit classes. Entry-level pay is $2,513 per month.

"The pay is more on the beach, and we do get lots of good people coming from the pools," Goto said.

POOL CLOSURES

The city's Parks and Recreation Department has 325 pool lifeguard positions — officially known as program aides — for its 21 pools. All are part-time contract positions and pay $11.46 an hour.

"We're always looking for good lifeguards, but we're not at the point where we've had to curtail hours," said Parks Director Lester Chang.

That hasn't been the case on Maui or the Big Island.

Hawai'i County has 95 lifeguard positions and 24 vacancies. "Almost every week some pool is closed or partially closed because of staffing," said Aquatic Program Administrator Larry Davis.

Popular Hapuna Beach in West Hawai'i was understaffed at least 30 percent of the time during the first three quarters of the 2005-06 fiscal year, according to county records, and other beaches and pools reported similar problems.

"We can't find enough qualified candidates. We're losing people to better-paying jobs. The building boom in West Hawai'i has taken a lot of people away from us," Davis said.

West Hawai'i District Capt. Chris Stelfox said he'd like to add 12 more lifeguards to his staff.

"It's a juggling system — who am I going to put out where. We use half-time workers to fill in the pukas, but even with those people, we're understaffed."

He said the entry-level pay of $11.97 an hour for a pool lifeguard and $14.01 for an ocean safety officer in Hawai'i County is no match for private-sector wages.

"The labor market right now is so good that people can make $20 an hour with no skills required. There's more money to be made out there," Stelfox said.

He said other people just can't spare the time to get certified — at least 30 hours for American Red Cross training — and some may be turned off by the lack of long-term prospects.

"People are still attracted to the position and working on the beach and the lifestyle. But without a career ladder to work their way up, it's still viewed as a dead-end job," he said.

'GETTING WORSE'

Maui County Aquatics chief Marian Feenstra said that Maui and the Big Island struggle with staffing because they try to keep their pools open every day, throughout the day. The two Neighbor Island counties also have less flexibility in scheduling since, unlike Honolulu's, their pool guards are union workers.

"It's been getting worse and worse. We're going to have to get more innovative and probably look at doing different pools with different swimming programs and hours. Right now, we're trying to accommodate everybody at the same time, and it's a burnout for the guards," Feenstra said.

Maui County has 12 vacancies out of 84 pool and beach positions, and only four of 11 summer pool-guard slots are filled, even though the summer pay was increased to $12 per hour and the county hires 16-year-olds who are lifeguard certified.

Since Kaua'i has only seven beaches and two pools under county supervision, it doesn't have as much trouble with lifeguard staffing, officials said. All of the fire department's 33 water safety officer positions are filled, and there are only four pool lifeguards. College students usually are hired for the 12 beach and pool positions added during the summer.

Lifeguarding at the YMCA can be a tough sell, since only part-time work is available at $8.50 an hour.

"Our normal market is older high school or college-age students, but once they're out of college, they're looking for a more stable career with upward mobility," Tomita said.

YOUTH UNINTERESTED

The Honolulu YMCA hasn't had to cut back pool hours yet, but Tomita said he and his assistant often are called out of the office to work a full shift poolside because of staffing shortages.

Despite programs to get more teens involved in lifeguarding, Tomita said there seems to be less interest from young people.

"Their exposure to sports in general seems to be going down and they're less active; they're not into outdoor activities. I don't know if it's because of computers or video games or whatever," he said.

Volunteer lifeguard instructor Maurice Rosete just wrapped up a class for 16 at Ala Moana Beach Park. He said many of his students aren't interested in pursuing a job in the field.

"They just want to acquire the skills and learn what to do at the beach if they have to rescue somebody," he said.

"I wish more youth would jump on it. With the hotels, the Waikiki beach activities, party boats, Kama'aina Kids and the water park, people are calling me left and right asking, 'You got any students available?' I don't think they're aware that it's a fun job."

Rosete said a dearth of volunteer instructors is another reason fewer people are getting certified.

Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com.