TRAINING UPDATE

Certification and Upgrading

Competencies Required for Certification

Members who apply for grandparenting as Construction Craft Workers must sign an Attestation of Competencies. Most experienced members have little difficulty doing this. However, some members, because they have worked in fairly specialized areas for all or most of their careers as Labourers, are missing one or two competencies. We will be providing training programs in these skills beginning later this fall and in the new year.

In particular, several individuals have been unable to sign off on "Read and Apply Basic Blue Prints, Drawings & Layouts" and/or "Rig & Hoist Materials and Equipment." We will be offering short courses in these and one or two other skills areas.

Upgrading for Members

If you check the Schedule on for our programs on this website, you will see that, for October, in addition to Basic Construction Craft Worker apprenticeship training starting on October 17 and regular Saturday courses in WHMIS, Propane, and Fall Arrest, we have upgrading courses - First Aid and equipment training. In an effort to improve service to members and utilize instructor time more efficiently, we are trying to run these courses every month. Next year we hope to have them at approximately the same time every month;

- Hoisting and Rigging (4-day course) will run early in each month (except December). The next course will be November 7 - 10.  - Rough Terrain Forklift will run in the middle of the month - October 17 - 21; November 14 - 18.  - Skid Steer (Bobcat) Certification will be on one day of the week following that: October 25; November 25.  - High Reach equipment will be the Thursday and Friday of last week of the month: October 27 - 28; December 1 - 2 (the end of the week beginning November 28).

Other upgrading - Zoom Boom, Swing Stage, longer Bobcat training will be scheduled occasionally depending on demand and availability of members to take the training. Regular Blueprint Reading courses will be offered at night beginning in January.

In 2006, we expect to be introducing more upgrading programs based on new equipment and changes in construction technology. For example, we will be introducing the Total Work Station both as part of regular Layout training and upgrading of members trained using the more traditional Transit Level. 

Comments? Email jmclaren@506tc.org