Heavy Equipment Operator

Woodlands

Job Description

In the forest products industry, heavy equipment operators operate machines like articulated haul trucks, tractor-loader-backhoes, excavators, dozers, loaders and graders. Their duties may include assessing sites and terrain. You may also do material handling work – say, stacking lumber and getting it ready for shipping. Being a heavy equipment operator is a fast-paced, physically demanding job that requires attention to detail and good hand-eye co-ordination. You could also find yourself driving heavy equipment to perform a combination of operations at logging areas, like harvesting sections of trees for processing in a sawmill. To do this, you would operate a $300,000-feller-buncher machine on a caterpillar track. Manipulating a powerful, but precise, arm with a saw lets heavy equipment operators practise selective, sustainable harvesting.

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Is your career goal to become a(n) Heavy Equipment Operator in the forest industry?

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This job is right for you if...

  • You want to live an oversized life in one of Canada’s beautiful forest communities
  • A sense of community is important to you
  • You want to make a difference working in a green job
  • You like the outdoors
  • You are a team player
  • You like big machines
  • You want to work in work boots, not dress shoes

Communities

Check out these forest communities where Woodlands jobs are available.

HIGH LEVEL, ALBERTA
ROCKY MOUNTAIN HOUSE, ALBERTA
FORT ST-JAMES, BRITISH COLUMBIA

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Education And Training

Generally, you don’t need formal credentials to be a heavy equipment operator. Instead, heavy equipment operators rely on accumulated experience to get and keep jobs. In Nova Scotia, operators must be certified, which involves passing a test. In Quebec, you have to pass four exams. In B.C., you need to complete a specific number of trainee hours to be certified. There are numerous training programs across the country.

College of the North Atlantic
Ryerson University
University of the Fraser Valley

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NOTE

The requirements listed are generally required qualifications for this Career Type. The qualifications may vary based on the employer and/or the geographic location of that job.

FORECASTED JOBS

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* 2016 National Household Survey data not available. Comparative data has been used.

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