High demand for heavy equipment operator graduates

For single mom Diane Johns, learning how to operate an excavator is a "major life accomplishment."

It's also her ticket to financial independence to support herself and her two children.

Johns was among 17 graduates honoured at a special ceremony December 19 for completing Malaspina University-College's four month Road Building and Heavy Construction Equipment Operator Certificate program.

“I’ve wanted to finish something worthwhile my whole life,” said Johns. “This program will open doors. As a single parent, there will always be employment for me, so I won’t have to worry about providing for my kids anymore. That’s a great feeling.”

Johns, a member of the Carcross/Tagish First Nations community in the Yukon, temporarily left her two children and familiar surroundings to complete the four-month program at Malaspina’s training facility on Timberlands Road in Nanaimo. Students learn how to operate heavy machinery including track excavators, backhoes, graders, bulldozers and front end loaders.

Stu Seifert, program chair, said there are plenty of jobs available for graduates with starting wages of between $20 and $30 per hour.  “Last spring, we had 100 percent job placement,” said Seifert. “There’s high demand for our graduates, and I expect most of them will find work within a week in northern BC, Alberta and on the mainland. We have a good reputation and our students typically do very well.”

This week’s graduation ceremony “was extra special” because it’s the first time such a large group of students completed their training at the same time. 

“It’s great to give our graduates a proper send-off,” Seifert said. The ceremony was attended by graduates’ families, friends and Malaspina officials, including President Ralph Nilson.

“The success of this program is an excellent example of why Trades programming will continue to be a priority as Malaspina moves towards university designation,” said Nilson.  “I value the important community and alumni relationships that Malaspina has built over the past 50 years that the program has been in existence.”

Nilson also pointed out that students and graduates have assisted with major construction projects, including building golf courses on Vancouver Island including Morningstar in Parksville, Fairwinds in Nanoose, and other projects such as the Port Alberni airport.

He added that BC and Canada face a serious shortage of skilled trades people “and therefore today’s graduates have an excellent opportunities to build successful careers as heavy construction equipment operators in many fields including forestry, mining, construction or the road building industries throughout our province and beyond.”

Fred MacDonald, Malaspina's dean of trades and applied technology, said this particular group of graduates “is the most skilled and technologically advanced in the program’s history."

Students were trained under a new delivery model implemented earlier this year through funding provided by the Industry Training Authority (ITA) and sponsored by the Road Builders Association of BC. Malaspina enrolled up to 18 students in the four-month program, which included nine weeks of classroom training in “foundation” skills in engineering, safety and environmental awareness and eight weeks of technical skills training.

"Today's industry demands operators who are technically skilled with high safety awareness and who can operate machines in a variety of terrain in an environmentally sensitive fashion ," said MacDonald. “We’re pleased to work with the ITA and Road Builders Association to offer this kind of comprehensive training program and look forward to a continued partnership."

Seifert added that in addition to the four-month program students also have the option of enrolling in shorter training sessions for specific equipment, anywhere from three to eight weeks. Malaspina also works with industry to offer specialized courses in crane training, evaluations, fork lift certification, and driver training (class I and 3).

“We have millions of dollars of heavy equipment at the  Timberlands Road training facility and the machines never sit idle,” he said.

Meanwhile, recent graduate Peter Lykkemark, 45, praised the instructors and the course content. Lykkemark worked for 20 years in the construction industry as a carpenter, plumber and pipe inspector, but suffered an injury on the job. He was sponsored by the Workers Compensation Board to retrain.

“This program has been great," he said. "It’s a good feeling to know that after all these years, I can still return to school and learn something new. It's been worth it."

Malaspina is accepting applications for the next four-month Road Building and Heavy Construction Equipment Operator Certificate program which begins March 2008. To apply, call 740- 6227.