Caterpillar - Finning Canada

HUMAN RESOURCESSPECIAL REPORTHUMAN RESOURCESINDUSTRY REPORTLANDSCAPINGPassionfor TradesDedication, perseverancelead to rewarding careersB Y K E R R Y T R E M B L A YIt can be a long journey to finally get the careerof your dreams. Many take different routes tocareers in the trades. Some start young, rightafter high school – others find trades careerslater on in life. According to Alberta Learning, in2003 statistics show the average age of apprenticesregistered for the first time in the firsttrade was 25. Adding up the numbers, there areapproximately 60,000 apprentices in Alberta, BritishColumbia, Yukon Territory and Northwest Territoriesstudying everything from carpentry to cooking. Forbrand-new journeyman carpenter Colette DeBeursand soon-to-be journeyman Caterpillar Dealer servicetechnician Jeff Brazeau , their very different journeyshave developed into jobs they delight in.When Brazeau was a second year millwright apprenticeattending the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology,one of his instructors told him about a brandnew program starting up – the Caterpillar Dealer ServiceTechnician program. “That tweaked my interest rightthere,” says the 30-something apprentice and memberof the Think Big program’s first graduating class.That chat with the instructor was the beginning ofa new career. He spoke to the head of the department,applied online for a spot in the program, wrote six testsranging from mechanics to math, personality, physicsand several others. “The testing was geared towardcomprehension, and thinking quickly and accurately,”he recalls. Then it was on to a three-person panel interview.Once accepted, it was time to hit the books. Alongwith 23 classmates, he spent eight weeks in the classroom,followed by eight weeks at a Finning (Canada)facility in each of five semesters. Brazeau also spentextra time in the classroom for one summer session – ina class giving participants an opportunity to challengethe Heavy Equipment Technician Alberta ApprenticeshipExaminations.“Study in class was a time for refocussing and firmingup what I already knew from my prior education,”says Brazeau. “The real learning was in the shop, whereI had a chance to apply the classroom material to themachines, working environment and people,” he says.“It’s been an environment conducive to learning.”In his final stretch of the Think Big program he isposted at Finning (Canada’s) Calgary Power Systems,PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN GAUCHERwww.finning.ca Summer 2005 • TRACKS & TREADS 25