What do they do?
Sawmill operators and managers work in sawmills processing wood. They operate sawmill machinery, log loaders and forklifts. They sort, stack and grade timber, trim timber to standard lengths, and record timber size and grades. They understand timber characteristics as well as strict health and safety requirements.
A typical day
Typically, an eight-hour day or shift work.
A typical day on-the-job involves operating sawmill machinery, operating log loaders and forklifts, trimming timber, operating and monitoring kilns and treatment processing, grading timber and operating scanners.
Sound like you?
Study areas
» Sciences or Workshop Technologies
» Physical Education or Health
» Computing/ICT/InformationManagement.
Attributes
» Strong eye for detail
» Reasonable strength and fitness
» Good literacy and numeracy
» Good initiative/'can-do' attitude.
Helpful experience
» Analysing, researching or problem-solving
» Making or fixing things
» Working with machinery
» Working with computers.
Preferred work environments
» Indoors (workshop or plant)
» Different places from time to time.
Pathway
School
» Unit standards in schools
» NCEA Level 2 is recommended
Entry level jobs
» Sawmill Opertator
Advanced jobs
» Higher learning
» Team Leader
» Supervisor
Senior jobs
» Higher learning
» Sawmill Manager
» Business Owner
