Traveling, training and networking in the forest industry
May 9, 2014 4:24 pm Leave your thoughts
Hello friends!! My name is Emily, I’m from Sault Ste. Marie, ON, and I’ve been hired for a silviculture position at Millar Western in the Whitecourt woodlands dept. This is the first blog I have ever written, so bear with me.
I started on April 28th, and I have not looked back — everyone has been awesome here and very helpful. The past two weeks have been dedicated to training, which includes:
- ATV training and inspection
- Truck driver training and inspections (got stuck for the first time – see the photo!)
- How to properly use a spill kit (to control an oil or chemical spill)
- EMS training (how to follow the proper environmental protocols)
- Proper use of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment).
The list goes on, but I don’t want to bury you! I have enjoyed living in Whitecourt — it’s a very nice, small town community. Everyone seems to help each other out, and there are lots of recreational opportunities within an hour’s reach, if you like the outdoors. This appealed to me when I applied to the job.
I was very scared to be going so far from home. However, I have learned that the forestry world is a small happy community, like Whitecourt, and the hardest part, in terms of finding work, is getting your name out there. In this field, I have been told by one of my teachers that networking is key. And, that’s one of the big advantages to an internship opportunity like this one.
When you travel long distances for work, you may think “what the heck am I doing?” But you find out a lot about what you’re made of, because you’re not in the comfort of your home town. Plus, you get to meet awesome people. This experience, for me, is like an extended interview and reminds me of what my teacher John Clement told my class at the beginning of the year: “Treat your schooling like a shopping spree, over fill your cart and get as many deals and information as you can.” Bottom line: You get what you take from an experience.
Happy reading, and don’t forget Mother’s Day is on Sunday. CHEERS!
Our stuck truck: we needed a tow!
Millar Western from a distance.