Positions for seasonal lifeguards with three- and four-month contracts are harder to fill, Andreas Karvounis, an official with the Ministry of the Interior’s Beach Safety Unit, told CNA. As he noted, most of the vacant lifeguard positions are located in the districts of Paphos, Limassol, and Larnaca.
“This year we had a total of 377 approved lifeguard positions,” he said initially, adding that some positions remain unfilled each year.
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As Mr. Karvounis noted, there are 107 permanent lifeguards, while the rest are seasonal and are employed on a three-month, four-month, six-month, eight-month, or even eleven-month basis.
He explained that the three- and four-month seasonal lifeguard positions “are more difficult to fill.”
Referring to lifeguards’ schedules, he said they are not standardized but are determined based on each beach’s specific conditions, visitor traffic, and level of risk, as well as the available staff.
When asked in which districts the most lifeguard vacancies are located, Mr. Karvounis said that “in Nicosia, because the number is small, all positions are filled. In Famagusta, there are some vacancies, but the largest shortages are mainly in Paphos, Limassol, and Larnaca.”
As he noted, historically, these three-month positions have been filled mainly by students or people who wanted to work only during the summer.
He noted, however, that the three-month duration of employment acts as a deterrent for those seeking greater job stability.
In closing, Mr. Karvounis said that the Ministry of the Interior “makes efforts every year, based on figures from previous years, to fill as many lifeguard positions as possible.”
“We’re trying to see if we can explore other options because there’s obviously an issue with the three-month positions,” he concluded.
