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 Another busy year coming upBy Brad Randall, Training Plan Administrator The Training Plan had a very busy and successful year in 2006. We currently have close to 450 apprentices and trainees working. That is an increase of 50 apprentices and trainees since this same time last year. Certain trades, such as heavy duty mechanic and mobile crane operator, are enjoying full employment and we just can’t find people fast enough to fill the orders. The training site is in full swing with our mobile crane, excavator, plant, asphalt laydown and grader courses. Brother Martin Jackman, training coordinator, has left the employ of the Training Plan. Martin did a good job and we wish him well. We were very fortunate again this year to have Brother Brad Hoey from Island Asphalt come over from Vancouver Island and work with Brother Steve Carter to teach our plant course. We welcome aboard Brother Jeff Klynsoon who was hired as our new mobile crane instructor. Jeff will be replacing Brother Gordon Lindberg who will be retiring soon. I would like to thank Brothers Grant Washington and Glen Seeley for volunteering a few days of their time to come out to the training site and help Brother Gordon Lindberg with his mobile crane class. We have had a few additional students in our Level l class to keep up with industry demands. Thanks to Brother Jim Ayotte for coming down from Kamloops to teach our seven-week grader course. Jim will also be teaching two grader courses and a grades and stakes course in Prince George. Brother Steve Carter will be teaching an asphalt laydown course in Prince George at the same time. Meeting with road building contractors In December 2006, we invited all our road building contractors to a meeting held in the auditorium of the Burnaby office. Owners, general managers and superintendents all across the province were invited to attend. We provided a brief update on the Training Plan, discussed our future direction and learned about the contractors’ needs for qualified operators. We invited Tracy Cooper, regional director for the Ministry of Transportation, to provide an overview of the upcoming work in 2007 and beyond. We put together a survey that was handed out at the meeting and sent to those that could not attend. This will add to the information we are gathering about the needs of the road building industry and allow us to prepare for the busy times ahead. Operating Engineers, Teamsters working together While our excavator courses were running last summer and fall, the Teamsters Local 213 Training Plan ran a two-week articulated dump truck course at our training site. They had two thirty-tonne Volvos on site with six students and two instructors. This worked very well as it gave our students a chance to load trucks and plan their jobs. We moved a lot of gravel. We are looking forward to more of these joint training courses. Road building programs The Training Plan participated successfully in the delivery of a pilot road building foundation course last spring. With an emphasis on safety, this four-week course is designed to provide pre-employment and job orientation training for students seeking a career in the road building industry. Graduates of the course receive tickets for flagging, hearing, WHMIS and first aid, along with Certificates of Completion from the Industry Training Authority. The ITA is the provincial body with a mandate to oversee and advance trades training and apprenticeships in B.C. Our class of 16 graduates achieved the highest final marks in the province. Many students went on to further training at the site in asphalt laydown and plant and excavator/backhoe. Fourteen of the sixteen graduates are now working in the road building industry with our employers. The Training Plan has an agreement now with the ITA to deliver four foundation courses per year over the next four years. The road building foundation course is also a prerequisite for several new career trades presently under development, including Heavy Equipment Operator, Asphalt Laydown Technician, Plant Operator, Utilities and Road Maintenance. All will be registered apprenticeships leading to B.C. Certificates of Qualification. The Training Plan is currently negotiating to deliver a pilot heavy equipment operator course March 4 to 30, 2007. This four-week course will comprise one week in-class theory followed by three weeks of practical training on six pieces of equipment: excavator, backhoe, loader, grader, dozer and articulated rock truck. |
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