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Students at Cedar Secondary School drove snow plows, dump trucks, excavators and more on Thursday, part of a simulated exercise for those interested in a career as heavy equipment operators. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)
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VIDEO: ‘Crazy similar:’ Nanaimo students get hands-on heavy equipment training

Jan 30, 2025 | 2:50 PM

NANAIMO — It’s about as real as it gets before you try the real thing.

Students at Cedar Secondary School were given the opportunity to try out an immersive heavy equipment simulator on Thursday, Jan. 30, programmed to realistically replicate vehicles from bulldozers and excavators to semi-trucks and snow plows.

The Road Show simulator is owned and operated by the B.C. Road Builders and Heavy Construction Association, with president Matt Pitcairn saying it’s a high-level, sophisticated tool.

“The simulators we have are technical training tools. We’re using them as a demonstration to pique interest in the industry, but we can absolutely use them for in-depth training so when someone gets on a real machine, they know all the basics, they have the basic comfort and feel to operate that machine.”

Four different stations are outfitted with everything needed to control a specific machine.

It creates a like-for-like experience for young drivers potentially exploring heavy equipment operation as a career path.

“The key is the physics, the feel, the flow, you want to be as realistic as possible to the real thing. The simulators that we have, they have motion bases, they have large screens, they’ve got realistic, actual joystick controls or steering wheels. We can simulate about 16 different pieces of heavy equipment on the hardware that we have.”

Grant funding from the provincial government came in March 2023, with the Association partnering with Montreal-based companies to build the 35-foot trailer.

It’s been on the road regularly across B.C. since February 2024, visiting a wide array of locations and events.

“We’ve been to job fairs, we’ve been to high schools, we’ve been to colleges, we’ve had new immigrant-focused events,” Pitcairn told NanaimoNewsNOW. “Really anyone in this province looking for a job, young or old, mid-career, we’re trying to give them a demonstration, virtual demonstration, of what is like in the industry.”

Drivers navigate snowy city streets in one simulation, which puts students behind the wheel of several different heavy equipment vehicles. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

The simulator is comparable to others at colleges and universities like BCIT and Vancouver Island University, but its mobility makes it somewhat unique.

It’s also proven to be an excellent recruitment tool for the industry.

“Youth jump into these seats and get the hang of it very quickly, and then they go ‘whoa, this is cool’, they never maybe thought of this as a career path. But after this experience they go ‘I’d like to learn more, how much do I make to start, do I need to go to school?’ We’ve had a million questions and I like to think we’ve got a million answers.”

Excavators, bulldozers and more are available for simulation. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

One such person is Ashton Wolfe, a grade 12 student at Nanaimo District Secondary School.

He drove in the simulator during a school visit last year and is now juggling his final year of schooling with a job at Lafarge.

Wolfe is currently in quality control but wants to work his way up to being a machine operator.

“It really helped me figure out what I want to do for my career and I was really set on what I want to do. I was kind of like 50-50 doing it, but after going in the excavator and the loader, it was like ‘this is what I want to do for the rest of my life’.”

He said the simulator is “crazy similar” to the real thing.

“The whole seat moves, everything’s all touchy, it moves when you dump your load, when you grab it, it’s very realistic.”

The roadshow continues in Nanaimo on Friday, before moving back over to the Lower Mainland.

Requests for stops can be made through the Road Show’s website.

The footprint of the simulator fit into a 35-foot long trailer and is hauled by a pickup truck across B.C. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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