Needed training provided

Haul truck simulators being installed by College of the Rockies will allow local students to train for the mining industry

Qualified haul truck drivers are needed in the mining industry. — Photo courtesy College of the Rockies

College of the Rockies (COTR) has long shown a dedication to training Kootenay residents for a relevant job market. Now, they’ve acquired a resource that will help prepare students for Western Canada’s thriving mining industry. With funding from the B.C. government and Columbia Basin Trust, they have purchased five haul truck simulators.

A four-week course will be offered, allowing students to train to be haul truck operators. The course will incorporate classroom instruction, online modules and, of course, plenty of time on the simulators. COTR is also building sandboxes that will demonstrate different mine sites.

“We’re trying to incorporate as many differents styles of teaching as we can, because people learn differently,” said Leah Bradish, director of continuing education and contract training. “But the critical core of the program, obviously, is the time on the simulators, which does simulate driving a haul truck in a mining environment. So (students) will learn all of the correct safety procedures, and how to handle emergency scenarios, many, many times over before they will ever operate a real haul truck.”

Two of the simulators are installed at COTR’s Fernie campus, and two are destined for Cranbrook’s Gold Creek campus. The fifth is being mounted in a sea can, which will be attached to the bed of a flatbed truck. This mobile approach will allow the simulator to offer training around the province. This unit will debut with a course in Mackenzie at the College of New Caledonia, but will be able to travel to wherever training is needed.

COTR has been working with Teck, which has shared some of its haul truck curriculum. If there’s a demand down the road, the college will be able to purchase kits that will allow the simulators to serve as training for a variety of other heavy equipment such as bulldozers, graders and backhoes. The program could eventually be expanded to include a variety of heavy equipment.

“It’s very exciting. We have the capability with the five simulators, now, to train upwards of 300 people annually to operate haul trucks in mines or in the oilsands,” said Bradish. “The way that mining and the oilsands are going right now, there’s definitely a demand.”