Forestry Equipment Operator

**Forestry Machine Operator Program**:
The forest industry in New Brunswick needs new equipment operators.

If you are interested in...
- Working outdoors in a 'team' environment;
- The challenge of working independently and important decision-making;
- Working with heavy equipment;
- Learning best practices for managing forests and protecting the environment;
- Living in a rural community with opportunities for advancement;

...a dynamic and skilled career as a forestry machine operator may be right for you

**The Program**:
The forestry machine operator training program is designed to prepare students for entry-level positions as mechanized forest equipment operators. The specialized nature of forest harvesting equipment requires skilled operators with a focus on safe, environmentally sustainable, and viable commercial operations.

As a starting point, applicants will participate in a comprehensive screening process to help ensure a good fit with a career as a forestry equipment operator. This process involves 4 stages and applicants must pass each phase before proceeding to the next. Stages include:

- A hands-on simulator assessment (estimated at 3-4 hours + travel to an assessment site),
- A career fit online assessment (estimated at 1-2hours, requires the applicant have access to a computer),
- Job interviews with participating employers (estimated at 1-2 hours each plus travel), and assuming a successful match, entering an employment agreement.

Applicants who successfully complete the screening process and are selected by a participating contractor will enroll as students and will participate in three key phases over the course of the 25-week program including:
**Forestry 101 (5 weeks)**

An in-class component to introduce forestry and logging fundamentals, machine types and work environments, preventative maintenance approaches, machine productivity, and other key forestry knowledge. These concepts are delivered through a series of sessions, hands-on exercises, and includes training on equipment simulators.

**Basic Training (5 weeks)**

**Advanced Equipment Operation Training (up to 15 weeks)**

Graduates of the basic training component will be hired by a harvesting contractor to work as a member of their team, where they will receive further ‘on-the-job’ instruction and coaching from professional training providers.

Upon successful completion, graduates will receive a certificate from the New Brunswick Community College and the equivalent of 1,000 hours towards Harvester and Forwarder trade designation.

Tuition is $3,500 and students may be eligible for funding to cover specific expenses incurred during certain phases of the program.

**What is Timber Harvesting All About'**:
Logging contractors are small businesses with most employing fewer than ten people and a few multi-crew operations employing fifty or more. Some are integrated, full-service operations whereas some may specialize in areas such as thinning or in-woods chipping operations.

Logging is time sensitive A conventional workday begins early in the morning, often just before sunrise, and ends after a full day's work. Most shifts are 10-12 hours in length.

Globally, demand for forest products is growing. Construction materials, paper products, and packaging supplies are derived from harvested timber, as are a wide variety of consumer goods, such as tissue and even food ingredients for products like cheese

The people who harvest, process, and transport timber - forestry contractors and machine operators
- make it all possible. Take a step to become a skilled forestry machine operator NOW