Sawmill General Worker

You'll plant, prune and fell trees for a forestry contractor in the hills near Ermelo. If you turn up on time and finish what you start, you'll fit in quickly.

The site is in Ermelo; early starts mean public transport timing matters, so check your route before applying. You'll start with a short induction before working on your own.

• Apply herbicide around young trees as instructed
• Fight veld fires with beaters and water packs under a crew leader
• Stack logs by length for loading onto trucks
• Prune lower branches with pruning saws and ladders
• Feed logs into sawmill machines and stack planks
• Plant seedlings in prepared pits at the right spacing
• Fell, debranch and cross-cut trees with a chainsaw

• Able to work in a crew and follow the crew leader
• Willing to work in remote areas
• Follows safety rules strictly around machines and fires
• Available for early starts and fire-season standby

• Fire fighting training
• First-aid training
• Chainsaw operator certificate

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

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