Pruning and Thinning Crew Worker

Hard, outdoor work on a pine plantation near Mthatha, with training on chainsaws and fire safety. If you turn up on time and finish what you start, you'll fit in quickly.

Home base is a pine plantation on the Mthatha side of Eastern Cape. You'll start with a short induction before working on your own.

• Clear and maintain firebreaks during the dry season
• Feed logs into sawmill machines and stack planks
• Fell, debranch and cross-cut trees with a chainsaw
• Stack logs by length for loading onto trucks
• Fight veld fires with beaters and water packs under a crew leader
• Apply herbicide around young trees as instructed

• Physically strong and fit for steep slopes
• Willing to work in remote areas
• Available for early starts and fire-season standby
• Follows safety rules strictly around machines and fires

• Chainsaw and fire training at no cost
• Crew transport to plantations
• Fire-season standby allowance
• Full safety gear provided

• Say you are fit and do not mind remote sites. Many applicants drop out after the first week, so recruiters test commitment.
• Mention fire fighting experience, even as a volunteer. Fire protection crews look for it before winter.