22 October 2015
For contract assessor Eugene Sorenson, the forestry industry has been a part of his life since birth.
“I was born into it,” the 36-year-old says.
“My father worked in the industry as a contractor so I’ve always been surrounded by it.”
Originally from Rotorua, Eugene has been based in Northland for the last six years and has worked in the industry for a total of 13 years.
“I’ve had various forestry jobs over the years that have taken me up and down the country. For the last six years I worked for HarvestPro New Zealand Limited as a foreman,” he says.
Eugene is currently employed by Totara Contractor where he’s an assessor, machine operator and health and safety representative.
“You learn to be a jack of all trades when you’re a foreman,” he says.
“You have to know everything about health and safety. It’s a really good thing to know, especially at the moment with the new law’s coming into play. It’s important to keep everyone safe.”
Eugene was approached by Competenz contract assessor Shane Maxwell to become an assessor.
“He thought I would be a good candidate for training to be an assessor. He said I was the right person for the job because I had the skills and I was a people person.”
The aspect of helping people becoming better forestry workers was appealing to Eugene.
“I’ve been an assessor for the last three and a half years. I like training people to become confident workers. I think that’s really cool,” he says.
“I enjoy seeing how different crews work. I currently assess crews from Rosewarne, Skipps Logging Limited, Totara Contractor’s, and R&R Logging. I’ve got a few more crews that I will be taking on board soon.”
Over the next few years, Eugene hopes to continue working his way up the career ladder.
“I’d like to work my way up in the industry. I want to challenge myself in different roles; something I can really sink my teeth into,” he says.
In his spare time, Eugene enjoys playing a few tunes on his guitar.
