“Za gondolier is defeated”. In their straw hats and striped blouses, for centuries Venice’s gondoliers have skilfully rowed through the narrow canals of the lagoon giving their passengers unforgettable moments. Now they are looking to increase their numbers to ensure that the tradition of their ancient profession lives on.

Venice city hall announced this week that it is looking for new gondoliers. Job requirements for the iconic profession include being 18 years of age or older, having completed high school, knowing how to swim and having a medical certificate proving “healthy and robust condition.”

But the application process it is not a simple matter.

First, budding gondoliers must apply for a training course – Arte del Gondoliere or The Art of the Gondolier. They will only be eligible for this if they prove they can row, or at least show signs of having what it takes to develop the skill.

“Being able to move the gondola is the most important thing,” Andrea Balbi, president of Venice’s gondoliers’ union, told the Guardian. “The pre-selection process helps us figure that out, and then they start the training.”

For anyone familiar with learning to drive in Italy, the gondola training process is just as demanding. Trainees must attend a 30-hour theory course during which they will learn the waterways equivalent of the Highway Code. They will also be taught English and French, as well as the history, art and culture of Venice, with a particular focus on how the city was built and its waterways. Then 10 hours of hands-on training will begin, which includes rowing a gondola with its single oar, under the guidance of an experienced gondolier.

The profession of a gondolier is pillar of Venice since 1094. For centuries, the specially designed 11-metre-long boats were the main form of transport in the city, ferrying the lower echelons of society, before being embraced by the aristocracy when the preferred means of transport – horses – were banned from the narrow streets in the 14th century. By the 16th century, about 10,000 gondolas existed in Venice.

Today, there are only 433 gondoliers. The profession used to be exclusively male, with the coveted licenses usually passed down from father to son. But now the profession is open to anyone who is an EU citizen. Giorgia Boscolo became the first gondolier in 2009 and today there are 14 women in total.

With around 30 million visitors a year, gondoliers are in high demand in Venice. But finding new gondoliers is less about serving the huge numbers of tourists and more about maintaining the profession, Balbi clarified.

“There is a generational change: people are retiring and they need to be replaced,” he said. “So we do the training courses whenever there is a need. People who engage in this profession do so because they are in love with Venice and are convinced that they are promoting the traditions of the gondola and the city.”

Such was the demand for the course, which costs applicants more than 1,000 euros, said Balbi, so that there is no danger of the profession dying out. “Venice should die before this profession dies,” he added.