It’s hard to say who had more fun during the 16th installment of Heavy Metal Rocks: the students or the instructors.
Regardless, incredible lessons were shared, as experienced operators from the industry shared their experiences, tips, tricks and advice with the next generation of operators.
“The kids have been fantastic so far. They are all eager to learn and great to work with,” said Tyson Gogel, an Asphalt Roller with Dawson Construction since 2018. “These kids are getting the opportunity to have their eyes opened to all these companies and potential careers available to them here in town. I would have loved to attend this course as a kid, way back when.”
Dawson Construction sent the paver, a roller and instructors Travis Evanoff (Operating Foreman), Brandon Schultz (Foreman) and Gogel to the Kamloops course, which took place at the Tk’emlups Indian Band Pit back in April. Many of the more than 30 students from School District No. 73 in attendance had yet to work with pavers before.
“Paving is an essential part of our infrastructure and connects us all. I’m excited to learn about their equipment and the industry,” said Owen Boon, a Grade 12 student at NorKam Secondary School. “I feel extra green around these instructors at times, but they are all doing a great job to make us feel safe and comfortable on these machines.”
Dawson Civil sent experienced operator Wayne Benton (Superintendent) to the course, as he bounced around, teaching students about the fine details about grading, front-end loading and how to operate other pieces of equipment, all to the students’ delight.
Cohen Hunt, a Grade 12 student from Barriere Secondary School, was one of the students that entered Heavy Metal Rocks already with some time on an excavator, but he still enjoyed getting to work with a variety of machines.
“Learning to operate a grader, dozer and crane – it’s been an incredible experience. I’m thankful to work with such great instructors,” said Hunt. “I’m having a blast.”
Dawson International Truck Centres also donated 16-litres of diesel exhaust fluid for equipment use at the Kamloops event.
Heavy Metal Rocks then moved up north, where our Dawson Road Maintenance (DRM) operators in the Cariboo got to work with graduating high school students.
DRM was on hand from April 24 to 27, at Centennial Pit, located just outside of Williams Lake, where Matthew Campbell (Assistant Superintendent) and Kurt Ondang (Machine Operator) worked with students from School District No. 27. Students took turns working on graders and front-end loaders with our employees.
DRM was once again working with the next generation of employees, when Heavy Metal Rocks made their visit to 100 Mile House in early May at the Scott Exeter Pit for May 2 and 3.
“The event was well-organized and offered a lot of hands-on experiences which were invaluable. The interaction between experienced operators and newcomers provided a great learning environment,” said Mohammad Hasani, Quality Manager.
Machine Operators Tyler Davis and Robert Harrop had the pleasure of representing DRM at this event, as they helped educate keen students on how to run DRM’s truck, grader and front-end loader.
All the operators and instructors had a great experience working with the students from Heavy Metal Rocks and are already looking forward to our company’s involvement next year.
If you wish to work for a company that is eager to share their industry knowledge with the next generation of employment, then please visit our Careers Page for all our current openings.