YMCA
YMCA Employee Reviews
Sort by: Helpfulness | Rating | Date
Fun out going
Customer Service (Former Employee) – Edmonton, AB – 19 June 2018
Really enjoyed my time at the YMCA. However it was just meant to be a 2nd part time job. However as I continued to work there i grew into other roles and my hours became more then part time. It came a time I need to pick a career. The culture was supportive and positive.
I was just a volunteer
Taekwondo Student Volunteering (Former Employee) – Mississauga, ON – 18 June 2018
So I was just helping around with the class, helping the grand master/master whenever they needed help with the demonstrations and help them settle the class down and all that.
Pros
more experience with the masters
Cons
n/a
Humbling Opportunity
Director (Former Employee) – Mississauga, ON – 15 June 2018
I loved every minute of it! Unfortunately it is only a summer contract position otherwise I wouldve stayed there forever! I had the amazing opportunity to work with kids and young adults and a chance to mentor them.
I love my co workers and i missed the staffings and membership and the toddlers
Cleaner (Former Employee) – Ottawa, ON – 14 June 2018
Working for the YMCA was a challenge and fun at times . You get to meet all kinds of cultural people and they are learning disabilities friendly environment workplace to work for
Pros
Free membership, learning something new and positive feed back and they help with not aganist you
Cons
Job security is only protected by seniorty not by work eithic
Good Experience
Staff (Former Employee) – Toronto, ON – 13 June 2018
It was a good experience because Teen Night was very easy to be in charge of and it wasn’t long hours so it helped be get home in time. It also was beneficial because i could exercise my communication skills
Pros
Gym Time
Cons
Lots of noise
Helpful and Accomidating
Athletic Centre Volunteer (Former Employee) – Kitchener, ON – 11 June 2018
My time volunteering at the A.R. Kaufman Family YMCA was very good to me.
I enjoyed the time and the experience.
The staff are friendly and the management are compassionate and accommodating.
I would love to go back to volunteering at the Y, but my search for a gainful career takes priority on my time.
I enjoyed the time and the experience.
The staff are friendly and the management are compassionate and accommodating.
I would love to go back to volunteering at the Y, but my search for a gainful career takes priority on my time.
Pros
regular volunteer time makes free membership
Cons
the laundry room is too warm for me
Very fun workplace
Volunteer Work (Former Employee) – Edmonton, AB – 9 June 2018
I loved working with the kids, the instructors were great! And I gained so much experience from assisting them in the swim lessons. It was also a very safe environment.
Pros
Learning experience
Cons
Long hours
Great experience but poor upper management
YMCA SACC (Former Employee) – Hamilton YMCA SACC – 9 June 2018
I worked there a few years ago for a couple years as both a supervisor and an assistant for SACC. I loved my co workers and how fun and rewarding the job was. I’m glad I left when I did or I feel like I may have stayed longer than I should’ve. It’s not a job you can sustain a living off of but it’s good for people starting out in that field.
as for area supervisors/upper managing. The first two years I worked there it was fine but in my final year there we had someone new that was just hired who struggled to get into the jist of how we operated at first. A lot of misunderstandings on her end.
The upper level sacc staff were very disorganized in that I was an assistant left to take care of 30 plus kids without a consistent supervisor. (If only the parents of these students knew) I explained to them on multiple occasions that I felt it wasn’t fair or safe to the students or myself but nothing was done about it.
This happened to be around the time of auditing and since I was the most senior staff available I was expected to stay overtime to do auit prep and paperwork for both classrooms.
So I was an assistant doing the work of a supervisor and a team lead without the proper compensation. I made no complaints though l. But everything that went wrong was ultimately and unfairly brought down on me.
That being said I’m sure there are new staff now and what happened in years past doesn’t always reflect to what is current. But just to get an understanding of what I know is a common trend with sacc: they are considerabl under staffed which means it is possible that a similar more... situation could arise. less
as for area supervisors/upper managing. The first two years I worked there it was fine but in my final year there we had someone new that was just hired who struggled to get into the jist of how we operated at first. A lot of misunderstandings on her end.
The upper level sacc staff were very disorganized in that I was an assistant left to take care of 30 plus kids without a consistent supervisor. (If only the parents of these students knew) I explained to them on multiple occasions that I felt it wasn’t fair or safe to the students or myself but nothing was done about it.
This happened to be around the time of auditing and since I was the most senior staff available I was expected to stay overtime to do auit prep and paperwork for both classrooms.
So I was an assistant doing the work of a supervisor and a team lead without the proper compensation. I made no complaints though l. But everything that went wrong was ultimately and unfairly brought down on me.
That being said I’m sure there are new staff now and what happened in years past doesn’t always reflect to what is current. But just to get an understanding of what I know is a common trend with sacc: they are considerabl under staffed which means it is possible that a similar more... situation could arise. less
Unpleasent
Lifeguard/Swim Instructor (Former Employee) – North Bay, ON – 6 June 2018
Although it seems like a great job it had its many downsides. Upper management never listened to the complaints and concerns of their employees and the pay was minimum even though it required a lot more costly certifications than other part time jobs. the hours were pretty good but it was next to impossible to get coverage for your shift no matter the circumstance.
Pros
Good hours
Cons
Not very comfortable work conditions
I learned to professionally be a leader to young children.
VOLUNTEER (Former Employee) – Winnipeg, MB – 5 June 2018
I had the opportunity to be a volunteer for the YMCA day camps. Where I was taught how to problem solve, activity plan and develop healthy relationships with children. I learned to be a responsible leader and a friend to the children I worked with.
lots of fun, made best friends, worked there since i was 15, now I'm 32!
Camp Counselor & Leader (Former Employee) – Oshawa, ON – 2 June 2018
amazing place of work. i worked the summer camps and had a blast. kids were fun to be around even though they were more on the misbehaving side, it was a fun challenge.
Pros
lots of trips and friendships built
Cons
log days, kids misbehave often
Enjoyable and Productive
Bridging the Gap Participant (Former Employee) – Edmonton, AB – 29 May 2018
Typically we worked on the skills to gain meaningful employment. I learned to write a cover letter and clean up my resume. the workplace was pretty casual and enjoyable for the most part. the hardest part of the job was to not show up over an hour before I needed to be there for. the most enjoyable part was some of the people that were also a part of the program with me.
Pros
Helpful supervisors
Cons
the fear of not being able to find a job after the program was over
assistant
Co-op Student (Former Employee) – Ottawa, ON – 28 May 2018
i really enjoyed my time there nothing but nice people. i helped around the facilities working with kids, greeting customers, cleaning female change rooms and helping with the kids home schooling program. it was nothing but fun everybody working there was really nice the manger that i was working under was super cool.
Great place for experience
Intern (Former Employee) – Montréal, QC – 28 May 2018
If you want to get your feet wet to working with teens, the teen zone of the YMCA is a great place to start. There are many opportunities to create programs for the teens and for you to build a relationship with them. All your colleagues are cooperative and comprehensive
Pros
Free gym membership