Thank you for your recent coverage of the Yukon Mine Training Association-sponsored heavy equipment operation simulator training.
Students who train using the simulator learn to operate the heavy equipment and develop the skills for emergency response without risking damage to themselves, other workers, and the machinery they’re driving.
Simulator training gives them a competence and confidence that can’t be matched by any other kind of training off the worksite. The simulator is the best tool available for teaching the necessary worksite skills and safety practices. That’s why the mine training association sponsored the simulator program in the Yukon.
Our investment has paid off, too. After the first offering of the course, seven students are work-ready. Starting March 23 another eight students will train here in Whitehorse using the simulator, and association will be sponsoring a session in Dawson City designed specifically for the placer mining industry.
I urge anyone with an interest in heavy equipment operator training, or operators who want to improve their skills to contact us at 867-633-6463 or info@ymta.org  to learn when the next available training session will be held.
Tracy Thomas, director Yukon Mine Training Association
Whitehorse