Have anyone from down under heard of TRF Contract Training? I am amazed at the services they seem to offer. If the website is a accurate description of how they train people, the Aussies got America beat when it comes to training programs for heavy equipment/mine workers. Any information will be very helpful, I am thinking of going to the land down under to become an operator.
One of the Irish Versions http://www.ktcsafety.ie/
It seems easy to get training everywhere but in the States, you guys big on scrapers?
In my career I have seen them used twice the second time towed by a tractor a Fendt.A very senior Muckshifter once told me "any man who tried to make a living in Ireland with a box went broke,lift it and shift it" is his motto and now he has one of the biggest muck shifting outfits here.
They appear to be a company operating in Kalgoorlie WA. A lot of mining goes on there.
Thanks alot:drinkup
If anyone cares to check out TRF site here it goes http://trfcontracttraining.com/Training.php
Just remember be aware of there warning about getting a job after you have got your ticket
????? Please elabourate
Yes please, what warning?????
That it is still hard to get a job after you have trained with them or any one else as you still do not have the 2 years experience of running a machine that most company want to give you a job here is link to that part in there site this is no way ment to bash you or any thing just a waring as I have Friend that is going though this and have seen it in the trucking industry it just seems the way the world is going http://trfcontracttraining.com/Mining_Employment.php
This, I believe, will only be a temporary situation based on the economy - employers (like me) can afford to be picky and want guys with more experience. When labor demand increases, we won't be able to get away with it any more. We've seen this before a couple times.
Thanks for the heads up oversize, I overlooked that part of the site. I guess that is what you call the "fine print" that people miss. Special Tool, not to sound negative, but with the way the economy is guys in my situation will never get a shot because the people with the power to hire won't even hear what we got to say or give a shot to new operators. It's not like back in the day where hard work and dedication would be enough to get you at least get you on as a laborer then it would be totally up to the indivdual to prove themselves. That's the way it is nowadays.
Thanks for the clarification ,that warning goes for any training or job even in life in general there is no guarantee,training is and should aid one to ones job better but in the heel of the hunt "you can't beat experience".As a newbie starting off these days training is a necessity to pick up the basic operation techniques ,when I started ions ago Health and safety was non existent if you were from a farming back round you got a job ,and as you were deemed to be used to equipment you usually got put on to the TBL.
Those were the good ole days, nowadays its different. Even if you can operate iron, employers turn their back on you
Tippatone Don't agree with your last statement,I know of no employer who will eject a machine operator to allow a junior man /woman seat time.To get your ticket here a young operator has a 4/5 day course to pass per item of plant at his own expense,our situation here at this moment in time is that there is an expected job loss of over 10,000 in the next couple of months ,now be a realist how hard do you think it going to be to get a seat being a newbie here in this emerald isle,in a conversation with a colleague yesterday we spoke of this very subject and were both of the same opinion that the market for operators will be oversuscribed here for the next five years, and then there will be a short fall, as the excavator tickets last only 5 years and to keep them a minimum of 500hours has to be logged up in the ticket logbook and signed and stamped. then of course there is the monetary in put so if you are out of work you have a double whammy to overcome.
In the United States it's a tad bit different. My situation for example, I left the states in January of this year to go to Jamaica just to learn the grading/excavating business from the ground up. I operated old obsolete equipment for 6 months in steep grades, close quarters, name all the nightmare situations and I think I have seen it. The only reason I returned to the US is because I have a family and a little one on the way, if not for that I would still be in Jamaica honing my skill waiting for my turn to be a full-time operator, because at the time I only filled in when needed. But when I come back here, nobody even gives me a call back or return an email. Just because I work in a seat for 4 or 5 years doesn't mean I am better than a person who has been at it for 1 or 2 years. IMO, after 4-5 months you should be good to go with everything except a motor grader, because that requires more skill to master. But I come back to the U.S. not asking to operate machinery, just to be a laborer to prove my worth to earn seat time, because I don't even have 1 year under my belt. In no means am I asking to unseat a qualified operator,just give us new guys a shot.
Tippatone, You must be one heluva operator and a quick learner if you seen all the nightmare scenarios in six months, if you are "good to go" on any heavy equipment except grader then you must truly be a talented man. I've been in this industry for forty years and I still haven't seen or know everything,I learn something new everyday and if that ever stops then so will I. Self confidence is a good attribute but is no substitute for skill and experience, over confidence without the latter two is downright dangerous. I understand that waiting for an operators position can be frustrating but you gotta learn to walk before you can run. I wish you all the best in your search
Please don't think I am picking on you but you have made the same mistake every operator who sat in a seat has made, "Just because I work in a seat for 4 or 5 years doesn't mean I am better than a person who has been at it for 1 or 2 years. IMO, after 4-5 months you should be good to go with everything except a motor grader, because that requires more skill to master". I am in construction for more years than I care to remember and I am still learning,even today I diverted thirty miles out of my way home to look at a job in progress which I will post pictures of soon. The job is using a system that I haven't seen used before so I want to get more info on it.While on the site I was waiting for someone ,in this time I was watching their systems of work ,the way they operated equipment,how safety was implemented,etc etc.All the knowledge I have acquired here in eire would be of little value to me in the USA as your systems are different,the specs the measurements the aggregate grades; hell the way you call timber 2x4 ,to me is a 4x2 or 100x50. In Jamaica you learned to manipulate a piece of equipment but their system of construction is probably different to the States,so no real experience was gained to be of any use to you.I understand your situation and yes it is very frustrating being caught in a catch 22,can't get a job because of no experience ,can't get experience because you got no job,so just because you know what each lever does doesn't mean you know everything that machine can do or even how to do it the fastest most efficient way. You sound to me to have the determination and drive to succeed so stick with it and harass the local contractors. I get off my soap box now..
To Stock and aongheas.macask, I meant that I have seen alot of bad situations not all, I said that out of being frustrated of the state of affairs here in the U.S. and I listened to the elders on the job, soaking up as much knowledge as I can and had my difficulties while being a laborer, the only piece of machinery that I can say I can operate with the utmost confidence is the dozer. For some reason it came quickly to me, I am not a master operator by any means, but it seems to me that operators in other countries are more likely to take younger people like me under the wing and pass on the knowledge they have accumlated of the years. That will be one thing I wont forget, to pass on the experience to others willing to learn. I may have overstated, I have not seen all the nightmare situations, but I have seen some bad things over in Jamaica trust me. If I can get these pics scanned, I will be happy to show you guys what it looks like.
Here is a pic to get you guy started, This bridge is replacing the Hope River Bridge, which was ruined by flood waters, during the passage of Tropical Storm Gustav.
AHH come on no teasing us git'em up lad don't keep us in suspense.
Im trying, this one I had on my hard drive, will get more on here as soon as possible.
Here you go, pics courtesy of Jamaica 1. Sea wall building at Palisadoes 2. Dry River Bridge renovations at Portland 3. Yallahs Bridge building
Tippatone, if you are serious, you might be interested in having a look at this company. One of my ex employees works for them at Roxby Downs, where they contract to BHP, but they also do contract mining all over Australia and from what I hear, they are fairly good company to work for. I have no idea what the permit reqirements are for working in Australia, but here is a link to their website. http://www.exactmining.com.au/index.php Rn'R.
How good you are and how experienced you are are only a small part of getting a job in the mines here. It starts with you application then phone interview,then one on one interview. There are a lot of hurdles and there is a big, big field in the running. Last year where I worked they were putting on 12 trainee truck operators on 12 month contracts. The first ones started 9 months ago and the last on 2 months ago. There were 1733 applicants. At a mine in Central Queensland a few weeks ago they advertised for 25 jobs the rumor is that there is 8,000 applicants. At the moment they are calling for expressions of interest for more experienced and trainee truck operators where I work, it will be interesting to see how many applications they get. So if your application doesn,t look good you are out, if you don't come across ok in the phone interview you're out, if your not ok in your medical your out, if you get that far then there is the one on one interviews and other exercises. If you are a experienced operator you MAY get a quick go on the relevant piece of equipment but you Will have the paper work and references to prove you have experience ,so operating the equipment is not really necessary. Then you wait to hear if you got the job,:sleeping that is probably the hardest as you know you have been doing all right to get this far but there is still maybe 2 or 3 people for each position, then you wait to start.:drinkup That might all sound a bit harsh but it is the reality of the situation. A couple of hints, you need to be a good team player/worker, mix with and get on with other people, be safety conscious, be articulate (speak up for yourself, don't over do it though). We currently have about 25 on each crew and we must be able to work safely and productivly together.It is not a good place for loners. From what I have seen they usually get it right. It is easier for everyone to train the right, inexperienced person than to hire an experienced operator who will not fit in with the current workforce. Don't lose heart ,keep trying it's not going to be handed to you.:drinkup
Thank you guys for your insight and advise, all I ask is to be allowed to share the same worksite with older more experience operators so I can absorb all the knowledge, trade secrets and nic-nacks that goes along with the business. I do a great job of keeping my ears open and my mouth shut. As for going Australia like Rocksn' Roses suggested, that will have to be an option I will have to explore when I get more money saved up. I love going to new places, but I don't how I would make it to Australia.
I don't think I have the experience to get in the door with them, they have some awesome Dozers in their fleet I must say.
Hi Tippatone, Why did you pick Jamica as a place to start your HE training? Stock is right about methods changing from one local to another. Even company to company will make a big difference in the operation. If you can get into an apprentice program with an operating eng. union like Local 3 or Local 12 you will receive good training on good equipment and then as work is available be sent out for more training in the field and receive a paycheck.
It goes like this, first my mom and dad are both native Jamaicans, I have been there numerous times so when I lost my hospital job in Dec 08 I went down there to clear my head and get some sun and fun. I ran into a buddy of mine who we used to watch the road crews work when we were kids. He happens to work for the Public Work Dept. down there and he pulled some strings and got me a nice laborer position and I loved it. One day the dozer operator got very sick and had to go home and the replacement was going to take too long to come out to the site we were at on that day so after a quick lesson in dozer operation, I became an emergency operator. I loved equipment when I was young but lost interest as I got older, but while sitting in that seat I felt at home. So after that I got to do small not to complex jobs from time to time, clearing roads affected by landslides, removing downed tree limbs and loading dump trucks with materials. And I have applied to two different apprenticeship programs here in the states the Local 302 in Washington State, and the Local 181 in Kentucky. It's a shame that I have to leave Georgia to get training but I will do what it takes to get where I want to be.
You might be surprised, Tippatone, they have a lot of trouble getting good operators and a lot of people do not like working in the more remote parts of the country. The two lads that worked for me, had no experience with large equipment, only our smaller equipment, but they were both good operators and they got jobs there, one has since left, but the other one is still there and has moved up the ladder. At Roxby Downs they quarry and crush material and mix concrete for backfilling the BHP uranium mine. This is an around the clock operation. They also do contract mining for other mines around the country. Things are still ticking along not too bad here and there are not hundreds of people lining up looking for work, like in the US. Rn'R
I may have to look into that. I don't know the first thing about Australia though. I have no family/friends, if its that remote where will I stay. I will need to find a small time job here just save enough money to pay for my room/board. It would be nice though, to come to the land down under to operate some iron. I will see how much room/board will cost, oh yeah I guess I will also need transportation to work also, what part of Australia is Roxby Downs again???
That used to be easy from Eire just imply that you broke the law and you got free transportation with bed and board for 7-10 years,no return ticket though.
Roxby Downs is in the north of South Australia, six hours from Adelaide and is the town for the Olympic Dam uranium mine. This mine is and underground mine, but they are about to have a huge expansion where they are going to open cut. Exact Mining is based in Adelaide and most of the workers live in either Adelaide or country SA and are flown in and out to wherever they are working with the company. If you were to base yourself in Adelaide, the company flies you to the job and provides food and accomodation for the period you are working and then flies you back to Adelaide for your break. I am not sure what the roster is, but it might be something like fourteen days on, seven days off and they work 12 hour days. You can rent in Roxby downs, but the rents and cost of living are fairly high. The best thing would be to contact Exact Mining and see what they have to say. If you study the website and go to the "Frequently asked Questions", a lot of things are explained there. Rn'R.
7-10 years, sound like a stretch at a workhouse to me, at this point I would take it. Rockn ' Roses, I will look into the Exact Mining website to see what can be done.