TSI at 30
Meet the Clarkes: Some of the people who’ve helped make TSI successful
Winston Clarke is just off shift after another busy day as a heavy equipment operator for Torngait Services Inc. at the Vale mine in Voisey’s Bay.
“Today I was digging test holes with the excavator. On another day, I was hauling material to a bog for pole placement. Often, I work in the ore storage building (the A-frame) throwing back material to make space for more ore. On another day, I could be hauling ore. No day is ever the same here. And that’s a good thing.”
Another good thing for Winston is that two of his sons, Nicco and Ronnie, also work with TSI. Nicco is on the same two-week rotation as his father. Ronnie’s shift overlaps with them for a day or two when he returns to site.
“One of my best days was when I heard they had been hired,” Winston says. “They have good jobs and can provide for their families. This is a pretty long-term project. I’ll never see the end of it and the boys will have a long career out of this.”
THE PATH TO WORKING FOR TSI
The Clarkes are from Port Hope Simpson. Winston started his working life as a fisherman, but got out of the boat and into operating heavy equipment for his uncle’s business when he was 30. Nicco and Ronnie followed the same path, first with their uncle and then at other construction jobs.
“I started as a mechanic at my uncle’s garage and did snow clearing in the winter,” says Ronnie. “I got into construction when they built the last leg of the Trans Labrador Highway from Goose Bay to the Straits. That opened the door for a job at TSI when the mine expansion project started. I’ll be there four years in August.”
Nicco was hired about a year-and-a-half ahead of Ronnie. He’s also a heavy equipment operator.
“I started at the crushing operation, the same type of work that I did on road construction,” says Nicco. “When my probationary period ended with TSI, I went over to the mine expansion project. Mine expansion ended last year, and now I’m back at the crusher again.”
It would be a mistake to think that employees with TSI site services are slotted into a single role.
