TRIPLE ASOCIACIÓN H
14. Estudio de contactos
The logging labour force is characterised by low levels of education and formal training. Formal education is lower than that in other industries, with 84.5 per cent leaving school before the age of 16 (Figure 5.1).
Figure 5.1: Proportion of wage earners in the northern NSW logging industry by age left school, 1991
& m £ S 4> « 0 V u 1 e u a. 100% T Did not go to school < 14 years 15 - 16 years 17 - 18 years 19 years or older
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics 1991 Census of Population and Housing.
The level of structured training in the logging industry in northern New South Wales is abysmally low (NSW Logging Association 1991). The only training that occurs is on an ad hoc basis, and is generally limited to chainsaw training. The skills required to log are learned either on the job or from family members.
No, none of them [workers] had formal training. They picked it up. They started young, all of them, and I guess most of them would have started at about 15 (Firm 8Male).
However, this lack of formal training must not be construed to mean that the logging work force is unskilled. All logging operators require accreditation or licensing from different state agencies in order to work. Log fallers require
accreditation by the State Forests of NSW to be licensed to operate on State Forests, machine operators require WorkCover certificates, and vehicle drivers require Road Transport Authority (RTA) licences. The skills required for each position in a logging operation differ. Log fallers and excavator operators segregating logs in an integrated operation are considered the most highly skilled.
It's all important work because each bloke has to do what he does really well. But that segregating logs is an art all on it's own. You've got to know what to look for, where to cut it, who to send it to. It's a really big
responsibility. And not a lot of blokes can do it. That's why very few can interchange with that (Firm 29:Male).
Log fallers are categorised into two types based on their skill. The first type is able to fall a tree, while the second type can turn the tree into a saleable log, as this small employer explains.
A bloke I know summed it up really well. He said he had two log fallers and the rest were all tree fallers. I reckon that answers it fairly well. A log faller is a bloke that when he cuts it [the tree] he is capable of making it into a log, while as far as the other bloke is concerned there it is. A lot of blokes we have fall for us, come out to the ramp and, well he doesn't really know what is going on with that log. The bloke at the ramp may take the butt off may take the head o f f , take the bit out the middle, send the, the he^piece might go to a salvage log to a salvage mill, the middle piece might go as a veneer or a quota log. The bloke who actually fell the tree, if you asked him to do it he'd be stuttering and stammering, wouldn 't Imow where to go on that log. Well not all of them, but a lot of them are today, because that's all they've done is fell for the bloke who does it on the ramp. The bloke doesn't really know
the ins and out of segregating logs (Firm 29:Male).
Log hauliers also require a high level of skill which is demonstrated by their ability to negotiate winding, steep and slippery forest roads while hauling heavy loads. As this manager-owner explains, not all truck drivers have the ability to become log hauliers.
You can get plenty of truck drivers that can drive on the highway, but not too many of them are capable of driving log trucks. There is a vast difference between the two, and we have spent a fair bit of time training the people up (Firm 30:Male).
Even though firm owners complain of difficulty in obtaining skilled workers, they are reluctant to train unskilled workers. The main reasons for not wanting to train unskilled workers is lack of formal training programmes, cost of training, risk of damage to machinery, and the fear that once trained, employees will leave the company.
I've taught a lot of young blokes through our time and then they 'II get to where they've learned a lot and then they think over the hill is nice and green and go and work for someone else, after you've spent all your time and money and training them, and knocking your gear around
(Firm 29:Male).
The most common reason given for lack of on-the-job training is that it is not
possible to train new workers because the rates that contractors are paid by the mills are too low (Chapter 6).
Like young Jason, he's always wanted to work in the bush, but it's hard to employ him because he doesn't know a lot. See years ago they used to take them on the tractor and train 'em and thai But the rates, you