The Beach Safety and Security Unit within the Ministry of Tourism, Civil Aviation, Transportation and, Investment with the support of the Canadian Life Saving Society has successfully completed an extensive international certification training programme aimed at improving lifesaving techniques and skills within the department.
The course which was facilitated over a two-week period in November 2022 by Mr Patrick D’almada and Ms Lisa Adams of the Canadian Lifesaving Society saw 23 lifeguards, 27 beach control officers, 2 technical staff and 2 beach liaison officers receiving training in Standard First Aid with CPR, National Lifeguard Waterfront, Bronze Cross and Bronze Medallion safeguard skills.
Egan Samuel; Beach Liaison Officer, Nayana Matthew; Beach Control Officer, Akeem Daley; Lifeguard, David James; Lifeguard and Raheem Mandeville; Lifeguard were all top performers in their respective fields of training.
Permanent Secretary within the Ministry of Tourism & Investment, Mr Walter Christopher said he is extremely pleased to see the completion of the certification programme and noted that with this certification, which is valid for two years, BSSU officers can benefit from opportunities anywhere within the region.
“The next step would be to select officers to be trained to become certified lifesaving instructors and examiners so that we won’t have to always rely on overseas trainers”, Mr Christopher said.
Mr Mclean Lawrence, Technical Trainer within the BSSU said most of the officers and guards were successful in executing the training skills while those that were not successful would be given a second opportunity to undergo the certification training.
“All certification is valid for 2 years so a recertification will have to take place at the end of that period; it is our hope that officers that were not successful at the last training will get certified during the upcoming period”, Mr Lawrence said.
Raheem Mandeville one of the top performers will be representing Antigua and Barbuda at the RLSS Commonwealth Lifesaving Competition to be held in Windsor, Canada in September 2023. This competition offers developmental opportunities in all aspects of lifesaving.
Since the inception of the BSSU in 2003, the unit has seen tremendous growth and has been engaged in a number of training exercises aimed at improving and enhancing beach safety and security in Antigua & Barbuda.