Hello all, my name is Larry and I have been a lurker on this site for quite some time now. Reading posts and learning up on a lot of useful things! I recently was laid off from my job, working as a mold setup/process tech for some automotive companies. And, well, we all know how the economy is going for most workers these days. I have always been interested in construction, especially the heavy equipment side of things. And I have been considering taking some schooling to become an Operator. However, the government of Ontario offers a sponsorship program "second career development" in which they will support you in going back to school for a career change if you have been laid off. How great is that! The downside is the process in convincing them to assist you is long and requires a lot of research. Beings I don't know anybody in this field of work I decided to try the internet out and have a few questions for all you operators/experienced workers in this field. That will be in my next post. I look forward to learning lots on this site! Lar
Welcome to The Heavy Equipment Forums Lar of Ontario......fire away with the questions. As for your career, I'm sorry to hear about the lay-off but have you thought about becoming a Doctor, Dentist, Lawyer, accountant, pro tennis player... I've heard these jobs pay well ...and I've just opened my mail and it looks like I should have been a Land Surveyor!!!. Lol Make yourself at home.
welcome aboard from another fellow aussie
Hey LAR, welcome to the site. I am new myself. I think you will find a great bunch of guys around here. Lots and lots of experience here. Makes me humble to be able to participate in this forum. As far as equipment schooling. I think that the best training for this trade is OJT (on the job training) I think most of the guys will tell you that they started from the bottom and worked their way into a machine. At least that is what I experienced. You can get lucky and find a company willing to train you as a rookie in a machine, but that will be hard to find in this economy as experienced guys are staying put. However, if this is a dream you are serious about, then go for it. It will happen eventually. Good luck brother.
LAR for your education in ontario i have come across the same thing. there is an ontario based scholl (transport Traning Centers Of Canada) that works with the goverment for people that are laid off to train for this feild. if you go to their website you can print the aplacation but it is better to just go into the the school and talk with the person behind the desk. i was on the same path as you i went into see them and in 2 weeks they had me good to go and im currently attending. where are you located in ontario? http://www.ttcc.ca/
I am located in Kitchener/waterloo. Where is the school located Oriden? Would you recommend that course?
Great forum welcome :drinkup
well **** small world im also located in kitchener waterloo. the TTCC program was a must for me after beeing turned down by conastoga and Flemining due to my low math mark so really no choise there. quailty wise the machines are in good shape so no rip offs there! the thing for the location however is the class room is located in cambridge on maple grove road right by challanger and toyota. the pit they use for traning is currently in brantford. however the site is part of a 403 extention and is planed to start in the spring right away so they are looking to move the machines some where in Cambridge at that point. as for the lay out for the school they currently run two shifts 7am-1pm and 10am-4pm hit me up on msn if you like! my class starts march.16th so you still have some time to get on board! [email protected] and welcome to the site fellow great white north :canada