On Thursday, the bathing season begins in Albufeira, the Algarve municipality with the largest number of beaches, and several concessionaires admitted to Lusa that it remains difficult to recruit lifeguards, which is why they have invested in hiring these professionals in good time.

Luís Martinho, from the Association of Industrialists and Similar Concessionaires of the Algarve Coastal Beaches (AISCOMA), points out as reasons for this difficulty “the lack of interest” of the Portuguese in the activity, as it is seasonal and also not recognised as a profession.

“A few years ago, we had young people looking for activities to occupy the three months of the school summer holidays, but the extension of the summer season to six months has caused demand to drop significantly,” he noted.

According to the businessman, who also has concessions on several beaches in the Algarve, “it is not a profession with a guaranteed future nor is it possible to live off it all year round”. Even so, in the concessions he manages, he has managed to keep the same lifeguards for several years.

“The protocol [from the Institute for Aid to Shipwrecked People] that exists with Brazil has helped, especially on the larger beaches, which work with associations, but even that only covers the bathing season,” he highlighted.

Luís Martinho foresees that the future may be complicated, defending the importance of valuing the profession so that more young people want to follow it.

“If the profession is not recognised, it will become increasingly difficult to guarantee safety on our beaches,” he warned.

António Vaz, concessionaire at Praia dos Salgados, in Albufeira, told Lusa that he did everything to ensure he would be prepared for the summer season, having started looking for lifeguards in January, and now has the complete team, with two lifeguards from Brazil.

However, recruitment is a “problem that affects everyone”, he admitted, considering that each year “it is increasingly difficult”, especially in the Algarve, where there is “a big problem” with accommodation due to the prices charged.

Jorge Azevedo, from the Albufeira Lifeguard Association (ANSA), stated that the problem with recruitment “remains the same as in other years, because there is less and less demand from young people for this activity”, with the added problem of there being those who work for one or two years and then stop working.

Foreign workers

However, the “problem has been mitigated” with the hiring of accredited professionals from Brazil and Argentina, two countries that have contributed “greatly to ensuring the safety of Portuguese beaches”.

“Most concessionaires in bathing areas are forced to recruit lifeguards under the protocol with Brazil to ensure the safety of the beaches,” he pointed out.

In Albufeira, he adds, there is a different aspect, “because the municipality has a year-round beach safety plan, which means that some of them work all year round and do not have to become unemployed”, although for others the activity remains seasonal.

The Portimão Water Rescue and Bather Assistance Association (Rocha Rescue) indicated that it has not faced difficulties in hiring lifeguards, due to the early start of recruitment and the use of foreign professionals.

According to Nuno Fernandes, representative of the association, anticipation is “fundamental” and the contracting work “starts immediately after the end of the previous bathing season”, as the concessionaires’ integrated plans must be delivered by the end of March.

The person in charge said that the exchange with Brazil “makes it possible to make up for the lack of interest of the Portuguese in the profession”, since winter in Brazil coincides with summer in Portugal.

“So they work here for five or six months and then return to work the rest of the period in their home countries,” he concluded.