A16 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, December 17, 1997

-. TERRACE STANDARD

Business REVIEW

By CRIS LEYKAUF
NORTHWEST COM-
MUNITY COLLEGE is
now just the third school in
the province to offer ex-
cavator and backhoe
courses.

With slowdowns. in the
logging industry, trained ex-
cavator and backhoe opera-
tors are leaving the area.

That’s going to mean a
shortage of experienced op-
erators here in the future.

For those not familiar with
heavy machinery, backhoes
have lange tires and stabi-
lizers which help balance
the machine when it’s
moving heavy loads. Back-
hoes are primarily used in
town for construction jobs.

Excavators have steel
tracks like a tank, and can
rotate 360 degrees. They’re
used by logging companies,
and to do jobs like digging
out basements.

Companies don’t want to
put inexperienced people on
their machines. Mistakes,
such as accidentally digging
up utility lines, can be very

costly.
So focal industry and
NWCC have developed a 60

hour course for each ima-
chine.

“First Nations villages
and band are really inter-
vested in this,’ said trades
coordinator Jim Bathgate.
Bands are getting more in-
volved in doing
mainienance and construc-
tion,

But right now they’re
spending thousands of dol-

Out &
About

Slower
growth seen

SLOW TO _ moderate
growth is forecast for B.C.
in 1998 due to weak forest
exports, slowing population
growth and only modest
gains in capital spending.

That’s the prediction from
Helmut Pastrick, the chief
economist of the Credit
Union Central of B.C.

“The weakening econom-
ic situation in the Asia-
Pacific region is resulting in
less lumber exports and
tourism activity,’’ he said.

B.C. exports in September
were down 9.5 per cent
from a year earlier.

B.C, Business Council
head Jerry Lampert said
rising costs are also a factor
hurting exports.

B.C,’s average unit labour
costs have climbed 8.6 per
cent since 1995, while the
nalional average has in-
creased only 2,5 per cent,

The Forest industry con-
tinues to cite increased costs

associated with the Forest.

Practices Code as a reason
for lost competitiveness.

Sympatico
may come

TERRACE may be part of
the next expansion of B.C.
Tel’s Sympatico consumer
Internet service.

“We. are considering a
number of communities in-
cluding Terrace for our ex-
pansion of Sympatico ser-
vice in 1998,’' said B.C.
Tel's Michelle Gagne. ,

The service. is presently
available- in the interior in
Prince. George, Kelowna,
Kamloops, Penticton and
Vernon.

Brewer

retires

DENNIS BREWER is
retiring after 15 years as
general manager of the Ter-
race and District Credit
Union.

Brewer and his wife are
locking forward to time off
to travel and relax.

Replacing Brewer as gen-
eral manager is operations
manager Valerie Gauvin.

CERTIFIED — Sean McGovern and Rod McMynn are the first graduates of

SARA

NWGC's new backhoe operator course. That's instructor Pierre Cote in the mid-
dig. The college will be offering six backhoe and excavator courses next term.

lars to send people away for
training in either Nanaimo
or Port Coguitlam — the
only two places which offer
the courses.

Having students stay at
home will save a lot of
money. But that doesn’t
mean the courses are cheap,

Tuition for the backhoe
course is $1,800 while the
excavator course is $2,200.
Two men have just gradu-
ated from the college’s first
backhoe course.

Sean McGovern works for
Skeena Cellulose in Prince
Rupert, and took the course
to improve his employment
chances in the future.

Rod McMynn is a part
time labourer for Pacific
Northern Gas, and he’s
hoping this course will help
him move up to backhoe op-

erator, should the
portunity arise.

Both are pleased with
what they’ve leamed from
the course.

“The more you know the
more you're worth,” said
McMynn.

He says learning how to
use the controls on the back-
hoe was like playing a video
game — ‘‘except you can
break things,’’ he adds.

Their instructor, Pierre
Cote, has nine years experi-
ence with the biz machines.
He learned on the job and
would have rather had the
chance to take a course.
‘“When that gas line is
hanging off your bucket...”
he says,-but adds that he’s
only done that twice.

From January to. April
NWCC has scheduled three

Op-

backhoe and three excavator
courses, with a maximum of
four students each, Bathgate
is confident they will fill up,
The courses were devel-
oped by adopting cur-
riculum from other colleges,
plus the operating manual
and safety videos.
“Industry is very happy
about this,’’ says Bathgate.
The college is also getting
good support from local
-business, who are loaning
machines to the college dur-
ing down times. That’s
necessary, since the college
only has a loader and can’t
afford the other machines.
NWCC is also looking at
training experienced opera-
tors in individual companies
to offer the course to junior
employees. That way those
employees can get certifica-
tion.

BRITISH COLUMBIANS
a ARE SAYING... aot
~~ a

ma

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