PROVEN THROUGH PERFORMANCE CONTACT KAYDEN INDUSTRIES TODAY! Toby Bird Business Development Consultant tbird@kaydenindustries.com T 403.571.6688 C 403.993.9269 Kayden Industries has experience in Dredging, Desludging and Mechanical Dewatering of municipal lagoons. Kayden prepares prior to the job commencing by properly surveying the lagoon, laboratory testing the material, then proposing the most e cient equipment and chemical package. At the end of the project we deliver a post dredge scan to prove our performance. 403.571.6688 24/7 SUPPORT: 1.855.571.6688 Manfacturing Plant: Sales & Executive O ce 3348 58 TH Avenue S.E. 1630 801 6 TH Avenue S.W. Calgary, AB, T2C 0B3 Calgary, AB, T2P 3W2 KAYDEN’S PROMISE TO YOU Kayden’s success over the past 20 years has been built on manufacturing one of the largest, most reliable and most e cient horizontal decanting centrifuges available in the dewatering industry. These high capacity centrifuges are specically designed for dewatering, and when combined with the most e cient dredges built in North America they create a mechanical desludging and dewatering package unsurpassed in the industry. Kayden can assure all clients that our technology will deliver industry leading results in the hands of trained operators who follow best practices in operation and technology deployment. Ready? ARE YOU When I heard what this month’s Pipeline theme was, “Are you ready?” I immediately thought I would write about emergency response planning, documenting processes using standard operating procedures and operations manuals. Then I considered the fact that I have written about those topics many times in the past. So, I took some time to consider what else the topic meant to someone working in the water and wastewater industry today. What came to mind is succession planning. I have written about succession planning several times in the past, but always from the employer’s point of view. But, what are we doing personally to plan for the retirement of the baby boomers? Many of us Gen-Xers are sitting in positions that are managed by baby boomers and will have to wait until they retire to be promoted. What can we do to make sure that we are ready to take on the challenges of filling some pretty big shoes? How can we prepare ourselves for unexpected changes in our workplace like resignations, illness or newly created positions? Even if you have been in a position for many years and have no plans of changing jobs it is advisable to keep your resume up to date. If you are a certified operator, you take regular training to fulfill your certification requirements and safety training that has to be renewed and these should be current on your resume. By keeping your resume updated and reviewing it regularly you may identify some areas that you need to strengthen in order to move to that next position or level in your organization. Another way to assess your skills is to consider your next promotional goal and the skills you need to strengthen to become competent for that position. Does the position require you to be proficient in a certain type of software? Do you need to have project management skills to manage construction or repair work? Is there an emphasis on preparing budgets or writing requests for proposals? Do you need stronger human resource or supervisory skills? Would you be responsible for administering the Occupational Health and Safety Program in your organization? Once you have a promotional goal in mind one of the best ways to be ready when the position opens is to sit down and ask the person in that role what skills they think are important to perform their job. They will probably tell you all of the things that they had to learn on the fly and what they found difficult when they started in the job. This is extremely valuable information for someone interested in a position. When you you have gathered enough information to understand where you need to strengthen your skill set, you are ready to create a plan. Being proactive in career planning can mean the difference between you and another candidate getting the job. When an employer sees that you have invested your time and sometimes your own financial resources into obtaining the required skills for a job it can be the deciding factor in who is successful. With the technology that we have today there are many options available to workers wanting to improve their marketability. We have access to online classes in almost any discipline. Classes in supervision and management, project management, water and wastewater technologies, electrical and instrumentation fundamentals, business administration, etc. are available at the click of a mouse. There are numerous workshops and classes available through local community colleges, technical schools, universities and private providers. And, there are still traditional correspondence courses. Not all organizations have limitless funds to sponsor employees to take training, but being creative about what training you take and how you spend limited funds can make a big difference later. If there is a course that you think will help you promote in your organization and your division only has money for c.e.u. approved courses you can contact the Operator Certification Board to see if the course can be certified. Many courses would be considered relevant and be allowed c.e.u. approval if we only ask. Investing in yourself by paying for a course is also an option and may pay you back greatly if it means getting a promotion. Remember that most classes are also income tax deductible and you should ask before registering. As always, I would be more than happy to assist anyone who is considering improving his or her employment options. I have several ideas and suggestions for courses, workshops and on-line training that may help you achieve your next goal. Please do not hesitate to send a message through the SWWA office and I will return your call. Dawn Dierker ATAP