Heavy equipment training in Driftpile

Shirley Hunter, left, and and Driftpile First Nations Chief Rose Laboucan sign an agreement for Driftpile’s heavy equipment operator training program on Feb. 7.

Mac Olsen
South Peace News

It consists of 12 weeks of classroom instruction and field training, and from there, it’s off to work on heavy equipment for substantial wages. Twenty-two people are being trained at the Northern Lakes College campus in Driftpile to operate heavy equipment. Three instructors from Olds College in Olds, Alberta (near Red Deer) are conducting this training program, which started on Jan. 7. Chief Rose Laboucan of Driftpile and Shirley Hunter, the Aboriginal Programs Coordinator for Alberta Employment’s office in Slave Lake, signed an agreement this program on Feb. 7. The government is providing approximately $390,000 and Driftpile and Olds College are contributing the remainder of the funding. One thing Laboucan wants to do is provide employment opportunities for her people, and she points to this training program as a way of doing that. “We are able to employ our people long term,” says Laboucan. “Their (skills) are going to be in high demand. They will have certification to operate more than one piece of heavy equipment.” Laboucan also says industry has a vested interest in this training program. Shell Canada will take four of the students, Thompson Bros. will take 10 of them, and Olds College will take the remainder for placement. She commends Councillor Hank Giroux for helping to get the program going. Hunter says this training program comes under the provincial government’s 10-year Workforce Development Strategy, which includes the First Nations Training To Employment Program. There are 59 similar training projects throughout the province, tailor made to meet each aboriginal community’s needs. Jamie Lynn Cunningham, the human resources development coordinator for Driftpile, interviewed the candidates for this training program. They had to answer questions provided by Olds College and the provincial government about their interest in it. The 22 people selected include five from Sucker Creek First Nation, one from Kapawe’no, three from Chip Lake, and 13 from Driftpile. They have varied backgrounds and interests in heavy equipment operations. Mike Ward wants to specialize in backhoe operations in the petroleum industry. Ward has previous experience operating a rock truck. After this, he could have worked as a bulldozer operator for $35-40/hr, but chose to enroll in this training program. “The money is great, and I turned down a few jobs to take this course to better myself,” says Ward. He also encourages young people to enroll in similar programs to improve their employment opportunities. Gary Halcrow, aka “High Tower” to fellow students, worked as a labourer in road construction. He watched the heavy equipment operations with interest, and decided that he wanted to be an operator too. He has his sights on bulldozers, graders and excavators. Halcrow says the classroom work is not difficult, and the instructors make it easy to comprehend the information. He also says he will go wherever the jobs are available. “You can work pretty much anywhere. It’s just a matter of getting there and sticking it out ’til the job’s through,” says Halcrow. Brian Tischynski is one of the instructors. He says the training program consists of six weeks in the classroom, then students alternate between the classroom and field training every two or three days for the other six weeks. The students train on each piece of heavy equipment as one module, with theory and practical application. They are graded continuously, and it takes 60 per cent to pass the training program. “This is very different from other academic settings,” says Tischynski. “You have to take the theoretical and really apply it in the field.” Tischynski commends Jamie Lynn Cunningham for her involvement in the training program. He adds that this is the first program of its kind from Olds College in terms of an outreach program. Speaking on behalf of Driftpile Human Resources Development, Cunningham wishes all the students success in achieving their education and training goals.

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