SIOUX FALLS – The city’s Parks and Recreation Department is looking for a few good hands.
Around 500 to be exact.
Seasonal workers for the summer months is a big deal for the department from staffing public pools to mowing grass and maintenance.
Hiring is a challenge in what continues to be a tight labor market. The Parks and Recreation Department is hosting two sessions of walk-in interviews for the roughly 240 park maintenance positions. The sessions are Tuesday, March 21, and Thursday, March 23, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Parks Maintenance Headquarters, 2401 W. 49th St.
Hiring lifeguards and pool staff in recent years has been particularly challenging, Brett Kollars, the department’s assistant director, said during a briefing on Wednesday, March 15.
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Those positions were historically filled primarily with college students and teachers on summer break. In recent years, that demographic has broadened.
“We’ve adapted,” said Kollars. “We know we need to be flexible.”
The availability of lifeguards determines, in part, when certain pools close as the summer winds down and students return to school.
Kollars encourages people who might not consider being a lifeguard to inquire. “We provide the training and we pay for the training,” he said.
To apply for a position at the pools, recreation supervisor or park maintenance, go online at https://www.flowcode.com/page/parks-jobs
There are 254 openings at pools, including lifeguards and other staff. The department also needs 37 recreation leaders who supervise programming for kids at various parks around the city.
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Kollars said they hope to have the jobs filled by May 1. City pools are scheduled to open on June 2.
Wages for maintenance jobs start at $17.51 per hour; pool positions start at $16.48 per hour; and recreation supervisors start at $15.45 per hour.
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