Most positions within the RNLI are unpaid, and are staffed on a voluntary basis. Lifeboat volunteers must attend call-outs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and do so out of a desire to help others.
Do RNLI volunteers get expenses?
Volunteers are not paid for their time, but are entitled to be reimbursed for their travel and other legitimate expenses.
How long is RNLI training?
After 6 months of regular training, and getting to know and work with the crew, trainees may, depending on their progress, attend the Trainee Crew course at RNLI College in Poole, Dorset. After completing their 12-month probationary period and assessments, trainees become fully fledged crew members.
Do you get paid to be in the RNLI?
Most of the members of its lifeboat crews are unpaid volunteers. It has 238 lifeboat stations and operates 444 lifeboats. RNLI lifeguards operate on more than 200 beaches: the lifeguards are paid by local authorities, while the RNLI provides equipment and training.
Do you have to be able to swim to join the RNLI?
We have a few criteria you'll need to meet to become an RNLI lifeguard: This applies even if you've worked as an RNLI lifeguard before. You can complete a 400m pool swim in under 7½ minutes, the first 200m of which must be completed in under 3½ minutes.
What qualifications do you need to work for the RNLI?
- be over 17 years old (with the permission of your parents) or over 18.
- be under 55 years old (inshore lifeboat crew) or 65 (all-weather lifeboat crew)
- complete a health assessment, including an eyesight test.
- be physically fit.
- live and/or work close to a lifeboat station.
What was the first RNLI station?
First inland lifeboat station Lough Erne in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, is home to the RNLI's first non-tidal inshore lifeboat station.
Where was the first lifeboat station in the UK?
Formby beach
Where was the first lifeboat station in the world?