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VICTORIA – The Western Silviculture Contractors’ Association (WSCA) will receive $500,000 for the delivery of four safety programs designed specifically for the silviculture industry, Forests and Range Minister Pat Bell and Community Development Minister Kevin Krueger announced today.
“I want to thank the silviculture industry for this initiative,” said Bell. “We’re working to make British Columbia a world leader in growing trees, and that leadership includes safety for its workers. This training will add to the broad range of actions we’re taking to promote a culture of safety right across the forest sector.”
The safety programs
will focus on all-terrain vehicle use, resource road driver training, power saw
operations, and silviculture supervisors’ training. Funded through the
Community Development Trust, the four programs set a standard for the silviculture
industry, are endorsed by the B.C Forest Safety Council and will be offered in
collaboration with WorkSafeBC.
“Through the Community Development Trust,
we’re pleased to support this education initiative. This training for 1,400
people over the next two years will improve safety for those already working in
the silviculture industry and will help build a culture of safety among future
employees,” said Krueger. “Clearly, this investment will provide benefits to
workers for many years to come.”
The All-Terrain
Vehicle Training (ATV) will train forest crews in the proper handling of ATVs,
including how to safely unload them from the back of a crew cab or pickup truck.
The Resource Road Driver Training program will focus on the design and handling
characteristics of light trucks, how resource road conditions affect driving,
and the ‘unlearning’ of bad driving habits. The Silviculture Power Saw Operation training
program will teach the proper safety and handling of power saws, specifically
chain and brush saws used in silviculture situations.
The Silviculture
Supervisor Training for crew boss and project managers builds on the foundation
of the B.C. Forest Safety Council’s basic supervisor training, which the WSCA has
adapted with new content specific to silviculture issues. The training will not
only focus on operators and supervisors but will also serve to certify instructors
to deliver safety training.
“From a safety perspective, training is particularly important to us
because of our changing work force,” said WSCA executive director John Betts.
“A lot of experienced workers have left in the last few years to be replaced by
younger workers who will need a combination of experience and targeted training
to prepare them for the specific challenges they face on the job.”
The $129-million Community Development Trust
was established in May 2008, to help forest families, communities and companies
with the downturn in the industry. More than 5,000 forest workers in
communities across the province will benefit from programs and services made
available by the trust over three years.
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Public Affairs Officer 250 387-4592 |
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