MANILA — As the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) has officially declared the start of summer, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) is encouraging its accredited schools to offer Lifeguard Services course.
“It is timely to offer this course, and there’s a need for it, since one will be more at ease knowing that the lifeguard in a beach resort, for instance, is TESDA-certified,” TESDA Information Officer Nina Dodd told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Wednesday.
The Lifeguard Services course was approved and opened by the TESDA board in December 2015. However, its implementing guidelines were released just last month.
Dodd explained it took two years to complete the implementing guidelines, since it’s not that easy to create one. “The implementing guidelines detail how the course should be carried, identify the assessment tools, how much budget is needed per trainee, among others,” Dodd said, adding TESDA also had to meet several times with the industry when creating the implementing guidelines.
For now, TESDA-accredited schools will have to decide for the course’s fee, since TESDA is yet to come up with a standard fee for this.
The assessment fee is PHP660 for Lifeguard Services NC II and PHP670 for NC III.
Dodd told PNA the level of training would depend on the trainee’s target job. “For entry level or for a pool lifeguard, NC II should be taken. NC III is for those who would like to work in water parks or fish parks,” she explained.
Lifeguard Services NC II requires 980 hours of training, while NC III requires 1,780 hours, according to her. The training is usually eight hours per day, she added. (Ma. Cristina Arayata/PNA)
