Diggerland water park in Camden County is open for the summer season starting today-- but like many businesses, finding people who want to work hasn’t been easy.

Even with a $2 increase in pay, park owners are having to get creative.  

“We’ve taken all of our managers, and we cross-trained them to be lifeguard, short order cooks, basically everyone here in a managerial role understands that they need to take on a different responsibility,” says Diggerland president Ilya Girlya.

Seniors and teens as young as 15 are welcome to apply. The 26-hour lifeguard training course gives people who qualify more than just a summer job.  

“We are a Red Cross facility,” says Girlya. “We train all of our lifeguards in house, we have our own lifeguard instructors. You really learn a lifelong skill. There’s nothing better or more fulfilling than learning CPR to save a life in an immediate emergency, and we also expressed to them that when you’re a lifeguard, little kids look up to you, parents look up to you. They feel like they’re in the presence of authority and that’s a real important job and one that is very fulfilling.”

Diggerland also offers something called Blended Learning. It’s a hybrid of taking their class online and then the actual practical swimming and rescue and CPR is done at the facility. Diggerland will also pay for their license, so there’s no cost to applicants.