Learn Log Scaling
( Coastal or Interior)

In order to get a Scaling License you must pass a Government licensing exam. These exams are usually held twice a year on the Coast (May and October in Nanaimo) and every few years in Prince Rupert and several times a year at various locations around the Interior. The exams are all two day exams, one day for the written exam and another for the practical exam. 

Coastal or Interior Log Scaling?

In British Columbia there are two different types of log scaling Coastal scaling and Interior scaling. As far as Scaling is concerned, the Province is split into two regions by the Cascade mountains. West of the Cascades lies the Coast region and to the East lies the Interior. Logs are scaled according to which region they are harvested from. When considering learning log scaling, where you live or work is a factor on what kind of scaling you should learn. Some scaling companies require Scalers to have both licenses.

There are many shared similarities between Coastal and Interior scaling. The physical measurements and task of scaling is very similar to both systems but some of the assumptions regarding defects are different. The biggest difference is the grading of the logs. The Coastal system has many more grades than the Interior. 

Log Scaling courses in the past have tended to be both long and unsuccessful. Usually the courses are four to five months long and full time, evenings and weekends or just weekends. In this time students are expected to learn at a pace that may not be to their ability. The pass rate for these courses has remained at a consistent 30%. The success rate for first time students is closer to 10-15%. These long and expensive courses until now were the only way to learn the material.

The Learning Process

With two separate kinds of exams to prepare for we break the course into two separate programs, a theory course and a practical course.

 It is much harder for most people to learn the theory behind grading logs than it is to actually grade them in the field. It is this reason that taking your time while learning the theory is a luxury you can only get with this course. It takes anywhere from six to ten weeks to complete the theory course and ideally the theory course should be completed two weeks prior to the practical course.

After the theory course is complete the next step is to take the practical course. The practical course is mostly on the logs, there will however be some class time to properly tie in the theory course with the practical. The practical is sixteen days in a row and three additional weekends.  The Interior practical course is a nine day course.

Learn by Correspondence 

Using our system the first step in learning log scaling is to complete and pass the correspondence theory course. You may take either the Coastal or Interior scaling program, both courses operate the same way. Each course has seven modules that take you through the Government scaling manual in a concise and systematic way. Each module has worksheets (with answers provided) leading up to an exam that has to be sent in for marking. The entire course is open book as you are examined on what you understand not what have memorized. You will require 60% to pass each exam and a total overall score of 75% is required to pass the course.

The second module is a math course. Many people have expressed concerns that the math may be too difficult for them. Math is rarely the problem people have, understanding the concepts poses a bigger challenge. It is often said that you need to be better at English than at math. For students still concerned about the math they can take the math module prior to starting the course.

The theory course is a tutored course. You will have telephone or email access to the instructor (telephone access from 9am-8pm).

Practical Training

Once you have successfully completed the theory course you will now be ready to embark on some practical training. We offer practical courses mainly on Vancouver Island but have had courses in Prince Rupert, Williams Lake and Quesnel. Dates and locations for our practical courses can be found on the home page.

The theory course works with any practical training. Obviously no matter how great our program is it is impractical to expect to train everyone, people may not be able to attend our practical courses but still may have access to other means of training. Some courses have limited theory or none at all! With a course that has little theory our correspondence course will be a great aid. People should be aware of the kind of specialty training that a qualified instructor can give. Scaling companies send their employees and children through our course instead of training them in house. It is not recommended to embark on any training without first completing the theory course, the failure rates are vastly inflated by those that failed to prepare properly.

Why go through the effort

If the high failure rate isn't a compelling enough reason to take the correspondence if you are considering training with another institution, then keep this in mind There is only two exams a year on the Coast and sometimes there has only been one! Although there are several Interior exams throughout the year why not pass the first time?

Benefits of Correspondence

• Start your course anytime
• Learn anywhere
• Learn at your own pace
• Increase your chance of success
• Learn while you work, without quitting your job
• Tutor always available

            
      Scaler at work       Floating Logging Camp

Employment opportunities

Not everyone that gets licensed looks for log scaling jobs. Scalers use their knowledge in many areas of forestry including: harvesting, quality control, layout, log buying, saw milling, timber valuation. We work as a free job board exclusively for our students and though we cannot guarantee anyone employment, our students have been very successful in finding work.

People move in and out of the industry all the time thus giving new people a chance to enter the field. Scaling companies would love to only hire experienced people with years of training but the reality is there is a shortage of Scalers so the companies very often hire whoever they can and train accordingly. Of course hard work and perseverance are still valuable tools in acquiring the job but very often people just get lucky and are in the right place at the right time.

Scalers will make $22-$34 dollars per hour and a typical season lasts nine-ten months. In a year a Scaler can make 50 -60 thousand with some making more.

We encourage anyone that is interested in acquiring their license to find work to research the industry. People should call several scaling companies and ask questions about job prospects and opportunities. Nobody should start any course without first making sure it is right for them.
The Forestry Jobs Search website is another tool to check out.

Registration Forms

To enroll in the course just print out the form for the course you want and mail in with payment. We send the correspondence course Priority Post so you can start your training as soon as possible.

If there is any more information that you need feel free to Contact us.