The new construction of the “Piorama” swimming pool in Penzberg, Upper Bavaria, cost 33 million euros. After three years of construction, the family pool opened in November, but the Penzbergers still can’t take a sauna – there’s a lack of staff. Ludwig Schön, operations manager at Piorama, about the difficult search for sauna masters.
SZ: Which positions are still vacant?
Ludwig Schön: We need a total of 15 people in operations. We currently have 13 colleagues – so we are still two full-time employees short. The position includes the work of a lifeguard and sauna master at the same time. This means that we are trying to fill this position as a position with regular job variety. All of our colleagues who work as pool supervisors are also trained to work in the sauna.
How long have you been looking?
We started putting together a team during the construction phase. Almost a year ago we put the first job advertisements on the market. It’s extremely difficult to find staff at the moment.
Why is it so difficult?
Skilled workers have been difficult to find in our industry for more than 20 years. Many people have no idea what the actual scope of work in this job is: The common opinion is that you are just a simple lifeguard or pool sheriff with few interesting and varied tasks. This probably also leads to a lack of interest in the open positions. In terms of salary, it is always difficult to be competitive in the public sector. I think we pay a fair salary, but of course there are jobs in the private sector that – if you only look at the money – are difficult to compete with. Then I could imagine that the shift model is not attractive for many young people because everyone wants to have the weekend off or doesn’t want to work the late shift. We offer an attractive shift model in our company. Work seven days, take three days off, then work another seven days and then take four days off.
How much do you earn?
In our collective agreement for the public service (TVöD), the full-time position is in salary group 5, which means that we currently have 3,450 euros gross per month as our basic salary. This also includes voluntary benefits from the employer, such as a labor market allowance. There are also time allowances if you work on Sundays, public holidays or in the late shift, for example. We have 30 days of vacation per year, plus an additional three days of vacation for shift work, so we have a total of 33 days.
Doesn’t sound bad, what else speaks for the job?
The job is incredibly beautiful and versatile. Infusions in the sauna, event planning, for example for a Finnish sauna evening, lifeguarding, technology with smaller craft activities, water testing, course management, basic cleaning activities, traffic safety and accident prevention, first aiders or just people to talk to – you can get in every corner. Many great moments also happen in the swimming pool – laughing children, satisfied guests, applauding sauna guests. You get a lot in return. It’s a wonderful place to work, especially in a newly built swimming pool like this, where you can be proud of being part of the team from the first minute. It is also a responsible job. Water rescues and emergencies can sometimes involve serious situations.
And who can join you?
We do most of the training in-house, so career changers are also welcome. You don’t need any previous knowledge, but you should enjoy working in a team and with guests, be communicative, friendly, open, motivated and have a certain level of sportiness and affinity in the water.
How long does the education last?
I would roughly estimate three months until a career changer is fully and independently ready for work with training, swimming, internal training and company organizational instructions. Of course, the whole thing takes place during working hours alongside our work.
And when can you finally start using the sauna?
The hope is that we will have the team fully staffed in a few weeks. But unfortunately it is still unclear when the last personnel can be fully filled. The people of Penzberg and the surrounding area are of course waiting for us to finally be able to open the sauna.