February 22, 2010

Change is in the air for B.C.’s roadbuilders training

BRIAN MARTIN

correspondent

Some things change and some things stay the same. The saying even applies to training programs for road builders and heavy equipment operators.

Over the past four years, Kent Orrock has made a name for himself in the industry by creating, managing and overseeing the development of training programs for the B.C. Road Builders and Heavy Construction Association.

Full responsibility for managing those programs has now, however, been turned over to the Industry Training Authority (ITA), the provincial government office in charge of apprenticeship programs.

The ITA has placed them under the wings of one of their industry training organizations, which in turn oversees the transportation sector.

It is a broadly-based sector.

However, Orrock will still be around.

He has been retained on a part-time basis by the ITA to oversee the heavy equipment area.

So, while he is gone from the roadbuilders association, he is not gone from the industry.

The development of industry-wide standards in the heavy equipment sector is a story of evolution that continues.

Until the road builders association stepped forward to take over-all responsibility, there were no common standards.

It was very much a case of each company or each training facility doing their own thing.

Orrock pointed out, that as a result, a company hiring an operator really had no way of knowing what they were getting.

Because of the association’s work, there are currently two programs leading to journeyman recognition – heavy equipment operator and asphalt paving/laying.

Before taking either of those, however, students must take a foundation course. This month-long program aims at giving them a solid understanding of what happens in the industry, introduces them to safety on a job site and allows them to generally decide which sector -- equipment operator, for example, they are most interested in.

Both the programs contain a mixture of on-the-job and classroom training similar to any other apprenticeship courses.

The evolution Orrock pointed out will continue in 2010 with two expected developments.

The first will be the introduction of a utility installation program.

He said this has long been requested by municipal governments among others.

The course will cover installation of items like gas lines, water lines, electrical lines and telephone lines.

In early April, at the start of the government’s new fiscal year, it is expected Victoria will issue a request for proposals aimed at training institutions, which may be interested in providing the utility program.

The second big step in the evolution is the proposed Red Seal designation for heavy equipment operators, who have achieved what has always been called journeyman status.

It is now being referred to by the ITA as “trade qualified person” status.

To develop a Red Seal program, a province must first apply to the federal government.

It must then get three other provinces to join in.

The application to Ottawa was made six months ago and accepted.

The challenge has been to find three other provinces. Surprisingly, British Columbia appears to be the only province with industry-wide standards for equipment operators.

That includes operator-rich Alberta, where separate companies and separate training institutions have gone their own way.

Just as in B.C. it has led to a situation where employers really have no way of judging the competency of would-be operators until they are actually at the controls of a piece of equipment.

And sometimes that can be too late.

It appears, Orrock said, that Alberta and Saskatchewan are willing to join along with Prince Edward Island and several other provinces that are showing interest.

As for his own future, in addition to working with the Industry Training Authority, Orrock has contracted with a group called the Asia Pacific Gateway Skill Table, a non-profit group backed by the federal government. The aim is to make sure Canada has enough skilled managers to handle the coming growth in the transportation of goods between Canada and Asia.

At the moment, Orrock’s challenge is to evaluate the plethora of courses now available to front-line supervisory staff.

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