LANDSCAPE APPRENTICE:
$20-$24/hr

This is an entry level position with lots of room for growth and development with the company.

Here you will learn the skills required to become an important member of the team and begin your career as a landscape professional.

Your main roles and responsibilities are:

-Keeping the jobsite, street, trailer and machines neat, tidy and organized.

-Making your teammates jobs as easy as possible, try to think of their next steps and help to prepare material or tools before they need them.

As an apprentice your job will include the use of various hand tools (shovel, rake, broom, pick axe, post hole digger, etc.) and power tools (compactor, jumping jack, blower, power broom, etc.). Always know where to find these items and where to store them at the end of the day. It is your duty to maintain the overall organization and cleanliness of the tool trailer. Everything has a “home” and should be returned there at the end of each day or when the tool is no longer needed for the day.

A jobsite can become quite hazardous if not properly maintained throughout construction.

Loose bricks and brick cuts can cause tripping hazards. Spikes sticking out of the ground that are no longer in use can create other dangers. Loose tools, especially hard rakes can present tripping and other hazards as well. There are far too many potential hazards on a jobsite to list. It is imperative that you become aware of what a hazard may look like and address them. It is your duty as a new landscape apprentice to provide a tidy, safe working space for your teammates and yourself. Learn to identify hazards and obstacles and become proactive in keeping the site clean.

The street on our jobsites acts as a large staging area for our materials and machines, however we must be respectful of neighbours, pedestrians and traffic. You are responsible for maintaining the overall cleanliness of the street and sidewalks. The street is “clean” when every reasonable effort has been made to prevent any dust kicking up as cars pass by, all loose gravel has been removed, any piles are consolidated with a passage between the curb to allow drainage, palleted materials are condensed and neatly stored and all pylons have been neatly placed.

You should be able to load and carry a wheelbarrow confidently. We tend to use machinery where possible but some jobs will require you to move material by hand.

Know the difference between aggregates like “GA” (3⁄4” Crushed Minus) 1⁄4” Clear Stone (HPB - High Performance Bedding) and 3⁄4”clear stone.

Learn to “zero” and read a “Smart Level” and competently relay this information to teammates.

Fill all machines with the proper fuel; diesel in heavy machinery, gas for compaction equipment and generators, and mixed fuel for cut off saws. Never fill a machine unless you are sure of the type of fuel it takes.

Carry pavers, slabs and wall block to the installers and foremen on a jobsite. Place them in a neat, safe and organized manner. An unsafe pile of bricks can be extremely hazardous.

Aid in laying and moving heavy and awkward materials either by hand or with our machines. If you see a chance to help lift something, jump in and do “your share.” This will quickly garner trust and respect for you among your teammates

Correctly plant various trees, plants and shrubs in a location specified by the foreman.

You will be given opportunities to try out tools such as cut off saws and small machinery such as mini excavators and mini skid steers. This will help you get to the step of being a Landscape Installer.

There are literally hundreds of small tasks required of an apprentice on our job sites. Often you will be asked to jump from tasks to help briefly. Find your way back to your original task once you have helped. Pay attention, ask questions and show initiative to work your way up the ladder.