The five students who are part of the first heavy equipment operator (HEO) course at the 麻豆传媒AVeast College鈥檚 Estevan campus have finished their first session in the classroom, and now they鈥檙e in the midst of spending six weeks learning on equipment outdoors.聽
The tasks the students carry out each day are highly visible, because of the equipment they鈥檙e using, and have created a lot of interest.聽
And it鈥檚 more than just a class where students pick up a valuable skill; it鈥檚 also going to leave a legacy for the city鈥檚 transportation. 聽
As part of the class, the students are building the King Street Connector Road, as part of an agreement between the 麻豆传媒AVeast College and the City of Estevan, that will connect King to Nesbitt. The agreement between the college and the city calls for it to be completed in two years. 聽
鈥淲e started the road the last time we had an HEO program, which was a few years ago,鈥� said Sheena Onrait, the manager of marketing and communications for the college. 聽
They didn鈥檛 get very far, but they only had one class. Now the college has decided to develop its own curriculum and program. 聽
鈥淲e鈥檙e very appreciative that we get to finish the project we started. The city鈥檚 a great partner to have, especially for a job like this,鈥� said Onrait.
The location is perfect as well, because it is close to the college, and the students who are currently part of the classroom cohort can drive by the site every day to see what the students are learning.
Lead instructor Shane Dawson said the city is providing the fuel for the project. And the city understands that the HEO program isn鈥檛 just about building a road. It鈥檚 also a training ground for the students.聽
鈥淚鈥檓 very happy and impressed with the students, the efforts. They鈥檙e all coming here to learn. They鈥檙e excited about it. We get excited every day. It鈥檚 fun to come here and overcome fears and challenges.鈥澛�
They have a variety of assignments and tasks to know besides road construction.
Pointing to a student working on a garage pad, he said: 鈥淭hey have 15 assignments for each piece of equipment. So his assignment is the garage pad. He digs out his garage pad. I come and see it, I mark it, evaluate the depth and how he did.鈥澛�
At the end of every assignment, they refill the dirt so the next person can come and complete the task.
They have been learning what they could do within industry, like powerline digs, water or sewer digs, sloping and more. 聽
All students are also able to work on the road construction project. 聽
When they arrived at the site last month, the first task was to remove the topsoil, and get down to the sand and gravel that can be used appropriately. 聽
鈥淲e have enough topsoil here to do one-foot lifts on a thousand, 1,000 acre farms. There鈥檚 so much topsoil there you can see it鈥檚 70 feet high,鈥� said Dawson. 聽
People are invited to drive by the site to see what the students are doing, but they can鈥檛 enter the site without clearance.
Dawson pointed out that students follow strict rules and regulations, just like they would on a jobsite.
鈥淲e meet or exceed all expectations. We鈥檙e under strict rules and guidelines, and everything is safe and by the book,鈥� said Dawson. 聽
The next two cohorts will have eight students and they will have enough equipment for everybody, so that they can work on the road, and learn new skills, like sloping, trenching, basements, loading trucks, how to spot trucks and how to back in.
鈥淭hey鈥檒l be very well prepared to help out in the community and around Saskatchewan as heavy equipment operators,鈥� said Dawson.
Partners for the project are Redhead Equipment, Turnbull Excavating and the 麻豆传媒AVern Plains Co-op. Onrait said they appreciate the partners they have, because it鈥檚 nice to see support for the college. 聽
Interest for the HEO program has been high, since it鈥檚 one of a kind in Saskatchewan in terms of its 12-week length, with six in the classroom and six more outside.
鈥淎 more lengthy program is always an advantage for the students, because they have more time in the classroom and more time on the site,鈥� she said.聽 聽
