A Practical Guide to Get Training Support from Your Employer

Looking to get professional training funded by your employer? Many organizations have a learning and development budget to fund training initiatives for their staff. Enabling skill improvement, expansion of knowledge and contribution to business goals are often a high priority. To help you make the request to your employer to cover the cost of adaptive aquatics training, we have created this practical guide.

How to Ask Your Employer for Training

You’re most likely here because you see an opportunity to improve your skills and learn how to adapt your swim teaching for students who haven’t succeeded with traditional learn-to-swim methods.

Investing in Adaptive Aquatics training, particularly the globally recognized Swim Whisperers® Certification, is not just a personal development opportunity – it’s a chance to make a significant impact and expand the reach of your organization.

Understand the Need & Align with Your Organization’s Goals

Here’s how you can effectively advocate for this crucial training with your employer:

  • Recognize the Growing Demand
    More families are seeking inclusive swim programs for their children with diverse needs (neurodivergent, physical disabilities, emotional challenges). For swim lessons to be effective, swim instructors need to learn how to adapt their teaching approach to meet the unique needs of this growing client base.
  • Highlight Organizational Benefits
    Adaptive programs expand reach, enhance reputation, improve retention, and demonstrate community commitment.
  • Connect to Your Growth
    Gaining specialized skills will elevate your expertise, increase your job satisfaction, and empower you to feel confident teaching swimmers of all abilities.

Prepare a Clear Request: Make a Compelling Case

We recommend booking a professional development discussion with your supervisor. Be prepared for this meeting by outlining the specific training, how this will benefit you (i.e. make you a more effective and confident swim instructor for all swimmers) and how it will benefit the company (i.e. contribute to attracting more clients, improving program quality, and strengthening the organization’s reputation.)

We have provided a template letter/email that you can use to advocate for your training needs with your employer. This introduces them to Swim Whisperers®, a trusted certification program that equips instructors with the expertise to teach adaptive swimming.

Template Letter/Email

To make the request easy, here’s a persuasive email template. Simply copy and paste, fill in the details and send it off. It’s very straightforward. And, it shows your employer exactly how this benefits you, the wider team and clients.

Subject: Request for Adaptive Swim Instructor Training

Hi [Your Manager’s Name],

I’d like to request investment in my professional development as a swim instructor and ask you to consider specialized adaptive swim training through the Swim Whisperers® online certification program.

With over 3 million children in the US who have a disability*, the opportunity for the aquatic industry to better serve these individuals should be our number 1 priority. Additionally, the increasing prevalence of autism, with current US diagnoses at 1 in 31 children**, means that it is highly likely students at our swim school are attending lessons that are not adapted effectively enough, to help them learn in a way that meets their individual needs.

Learning to swim isn’t just a recreational activity; it’s a vital life skill, and for children with autism, ADHD, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, sensory sensitivities, or water anxiety, it’s absolutely crucial for water safety and preventing accidental drowning.

The Swim Whisperers® certification program is a 14-hour online course created by an experienced OT/PT team. This program is designed to equip instructors with the specialized skills and knowledge necessary to effectovely teach swimming to individuals with special needs.

The Swim Whisperers® course focuses on several key areas:

  • Identifying the 14 most common challenges encountered by swimmers with special needs.
  • Providing an assessment framework, including the 7 Areas of Focus.
  • Teaching practical and easy-to-understand strategies and techniques, created by an OT/PT team.
  • Real-life case studies.
  • Implementation of skills to get immediate results.

The focus of the course is on sensory integration, positive behavior support and adapted teaching techniques for various disabilities.

These strategies and techniques can be readily applied during swim lessons to help swimmers of all abilities progress and master essential swim skills and water safety practices. Once learned, strategies can easily be applied to neurotypical swimmers to help them make progress faster.

Investment Details:

Cost: $599 (Group Rates apply for 2 or more)

Format: Online, self-paced

Duration: 14 hours (approx. 1 hour per week to complete within 3 months)

Includes: 12-month access to course materials (Leveling up grants extended access), Swim Whisperers® Directory listing, Invitation to the private Facebook page and more.

You can read more about the course here: www.swimangelfish.com/cert

Investing in this type of training for your staff would make your facility more inclusive and better equipped to serve the needs of all children in our community.

Would you approve this professional development opportunity?

Sincerely,

[Your Name]

* United Stated Census Bureau: https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/03/united-states-childhood-disability-rate-up-in-2019-from-2008.html

** CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/74/ss/ss7402a1.htm?s_cid=ss7402a1_w#T2_down

Communicate Your Request

  • Prepare For Your Discussion
    Think about questions you may want to ask your employer and be prepared to answer any questions they have for you. Understand the benefits of continuing education for aquatic professionals so you can be prepared to discuss these with your supervisor or manager.
  • Demonstrate Value of This Training
    Highlight its potential to attract more clients and elevate the quality of your aquatic programs, ultimately providing a strong return on investment.
  • Show Commitment
    Explain how you will hold yourself accountable to completing the training and reiterate your dedication to the company and wanting to do the best for your organization.
  • Plan for Implementation
    Suggest how you will integrate your new skills into your swim lessons, how you will measure success and how you can provide feedback to your supervisor on the course. Consider piloting training for your team and contributing to marketing efforts to attract new clients.

Why Your Voice Matters

By advocating for the Swim Whisperers® adaptive aquatics training, you’re making a difference for children in your community. Your efforts can help your swim center recognize the importance of specialized adaptive swim training, leading to more inclusive programs and reducing drowning statistics.

We appreciate your commitment to raising awareness about the need for specialized adaptive swim training. It’s important to remember that not all adaptive swim training programs are created equal, and your advocacy helps ensure that more children have access to quality instruction.

Funding Support

We have a monthly scholarship funded by OAPP for swim instructors who need financial assistance for the adaptive Swim Whisperers® training.

We also work with foundations across the United States who provide funding for swim instructors to receive high-quality adaptive swim education.