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Houses & Buildings
Swimming Pool and Spa Builder
Related Jobs or Working with
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Swimming pool and spa technicians install spas, pool and spa heaters and
related equipment.
They also clean pools and spas, use chemicals to treat
water, and maintain and service pumps, filters and chlorinators.
Knowledge, skills and attributes
- enjoy practical and outdoor work
- physically fit
- able to work as part of a team or independently
- strong customer service skills
- able to follow precise directions
- good computer skills.
Duties and Tasks
Swimming pool and spa technicians may perform the following tasks:
- use chemicals in the treatment of water for pools and spas belonging
to individual households, communities such as hotels or unit complexes,
as well as councils and hospitals
- maintain and repair pumps, filters and chlorinators for swimming
pools and spas
- provide customers with advice on solving problems with their
equipment, water treatment or pool and spa maintenance
- work independently on worksites to maintain and service swimming
pools and spas
- maintain inventory of stock in vans and ensure tools such as saws,
pool cleaning equipment, and measuring equipment is kept in good order
- communicate with customers to organise appointments and invoicing.
Working Conditions
Much of the work is done outdoors and involves driving to job locations.
In a full-time job you would generally work a standard number of hours per
week, which would include weekends. During peak season where pools may be
open longer hours, you may work more hours. You may be based in one place,
such as a leisure centre or resort, or travel around an area, carrying out
contract maintenance on public and private pools and equipment.
You may require a current drivers' licence and you may have to wear a
uniform.
Education and
training/entrance requirements
You can work as a
swimming pool and spa technician without formal qualifications. You will
probably get some informal training on the job. Entry to this occupation may
be improved if you have qualifications and you may like to consider a VET
qualification. Entry to these courses usually requires Year 10.
Did You Know?
Australians are swimming crazy, whether it
be at the beach, or in public or pool swimming pools. No wonder we are
world renowned swimmers and inventors.
Australia builds more domestic swimming pools (per capita) than any
other country in the world. The USA for example, with a population of
270 million installs some 90,000 new pools annually.
Australia, with a population of 20 million, has a new in-ground pool
market of 20,000 per year.
One in 4 Australian homes have a swimming pool.
There are 800,000 existing Australian pools, which support an industry
of some 1700 businesses with an estimated 18,000 staff and contractors.
Australian domestic swimming pools generally hold between 22,000 and
60,000 litres of water, with the average being between 40,000 and 50,000
litres.
That is a total of 40,000,000,000 litres of water in swimming pools at
any given time.
There are 47 Olympic size swimming pools in Australia.
Sydney
Olympic Park Aquatic Centre
In the past 2 years the number of people drowning in Australia has
increased by close to 21% – after a period of time where the number of
drowning deaths was steadily dropping.
Drowning statistics in Australia reveal that the drowning rate in the 0
– 4 year age group is more than three times the drowning rate for all
ages.
In fact, drowning is the most common cause of accidental death among
children aged 1 – 4 years.
Toddlers can drown in as little as 5 cm of water.
The majority of deaths by drowning occur in private swimming pools and
spas. These have included children living in or visiting a home with a
swimming pool, or in a few instances, wandering in from the street.
Children have also drowned in rivers, creeks, dams, bathtubs and
buckets.
Coroners’ investigations into toddler drownings have found in the
majority of cases, parents or carers, have contributed to the cause of
death through their lack of supervision.
The ‘Australian Crawl’ - the style of ‘overarm’ or ‘freestyle’ swimming
stroke now familiar in competition swimming evolved out of the ‘trudgen’
stroke adopted by certain swimmers in Sydney in the early 1900s. The new
stroke was soon known worldwide as ‘the Australian Crawl.’
Fanny Durack was the Australian Crawl’s most famous exponent (and quite
possibly the inventor of its characteristic version.) The year 1912 saw
one of the greatest ever sporting achievements by an Australian. Fanny,
using an Australian Crawl was not only the first woman ever to win an
Olympic gold medal in swimming, in the process she cut four seconds of
the men’s world record.
(Source:
Pool Express)
Sarah (Fanny) Durack, 1889 - 1956
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