FORBES BROS LTD Employee Reviews

It’s an ok place. Nothing great, nothing awful. Typical shift work contractor, not the best or the worst place I have worked. Can succeed if you work hard. But there are also the undesirables that just seem to stick around as well.

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Underground division in serious need of overhaul. That’s why I left

Horizontal Directional Driller (Former Employee) - Acheson, AB - 29 March 2023

Do not waste your time if you’re looking for an HDD position. They claim to follow an industry standard and have competitive rates but that could not be further from the truth. You are overworked, underpaid and any concerns you have are ignored if they impact their bottom line.

Pros

Benefits and pension

Cons

Non-competitive pay scale

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Jobs at FORBES BROS LTD

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Foreman - Utility Construction

Operations Coordinator

Vancouver, BC

30+ days ago

Regional Safety Manager

Regina, SK

19 days ago

Overall good work environment

Lineman (Current Employee) - Saskatchewan - 7 February 2023

While working here you can really see the effort towards safety. other powerline companies may be aren’t as strict or over bearing with safety but I’d much rather be working here where it’s a priority than places where safety is nonexistent

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They play favourites

Labourer (Former Employee) - Alberta - 12 January 2023

Hire people for their experience but let others who don’t know what they’re doing control everything. So wouldn’t recommend working here at all unless they change the Mickey Mouse operation.

Pros

Good money

Cons

Favouritism

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Good place to work

Powerline Technician (Current Employee) - Kirkland Lake, ON - 2 November 2022

Good place, great guys/gals. Hard work and lots of hours. Great pay. Union job, decent benefits. Loa is fair. If there is one downside is at times there is a small need for tooling but is generally addressed. Theres a lot worse place to be employed

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Insights into FORBES BROS LTD

Based on 16 survey responses

What people like

Feeling of personal appreciation
Clear sense of purpose
Fair pay for job

Areas for improvement

Sense of belonging
Energizing work tasks
Supportive environment

Bad company

Powerline construction Labourer (Current Employee) - Prince Albert, SK - 12 September 2022

Unsafe and enforces safety just to pass audits no real safety environment.Treat you Like a # and dont follow up on offers to move up in the company No lunches or breaks

Cons

They dont care about the worker at all

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Changes

N/A (Former Employee) - Edmonton - 24 May 2022

Changes to executive management changes the org culture. Once had a small company feel to now feeling like a big company. Different executive jeans different style

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Game of Thrones civil construction edition

General Labourer (Former Employee) - Surrey, BC - 8 January 2022

A complete disconnect between the office and the field. a couple PM's are good, one I'm not sure how he got his position. Foremen pretty much carry the company. Lots of office politics started with management, group of yard hen's that'll rat and throw people under the bus to appease the almighty area foreman. This place is a mess. Unless you are good with dealing politics instead of working, you'll do great.

Pros

paid weekly, semi nice equipment.

Cons

office politics at a high, morale is sewered, they hide the fact that you need a clean urine test to start

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Excellent company to work with and would work for them again

Erecting Crew (Former Employee) - Newfoundland and Labrador - 28 December 2020

All the supervisors are friendly as the employees in the field, all great people to work with and great benefits with a good turn around schedule! Enjoyed working with Forbes bros in Newfoundland.

Pros

Good wages and benefits

Cons

Long hours which is good for more money making

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Great place to work

Fleet Manager (Former Employee) - Acheson, AB - 1 August 2020

Great job and place! Challenging and great learning experience. For the short time I worked there, I Thoroughly enjoyed my managers input and the Acheson staff as I got to know them.

Pros

Fast paced

Cons

Covid

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Fast Paced with excellent pay, but no life

Powerline Technician (Former Employee) - Edmonton, AB - 3 January 2020

Not a job for a family person, because you won't be home to see them very often. You will make a ton of money, but you will work longer than legally allowed. Usually not by choice, and get made fun of for bringing it up.

Pros

Great pay

Cons

working away from home, often for longer than is legally allowed in canada

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Good work and well managed

Lineman (Former Employee) - North Battleford, SK - 28 November 2019

I loved my job and had a good time doing it with the crew I was on it was fast paced and well managed. The work was mostly overhead construction and that was a plus

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Horrible Management

Driver (Former Employee) - Canada - 17 September 2019

This company loves to preach safety, safety, safety.... but when the work is being done, they don’t practice. They have workers doing 12-18 hour days, and running way over on driving hours making log books inaccurate. Also, they have drivers from other Provinces using a Class 3 license to drive tridem trucks with trailers, which is a Class 1. If you have any issues with your work, then they will find anyway to get rid of you.

Pros

Wage

Cons

Everything

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Great place to work.

Safety Advisor - Transmission Construction (Former Employee) - Manitoba - 7 September 2019

Strong Safety Culture, management walked the walk. Workers had a high level of professionalism and pride in the work they performed. JSAs are very detailed and well laid out (When necessary the JSAs and Work Practices were amended as required as work practices needed to change.

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Excellent company overall

Lineman, supervisor (Current Employee) - Canada - 4 September 2019

I spent 5yrs working at Forbes and achieved several advances in my career. The ownership group are hardworking, aggresssive lineman turned businessmen that work hard to keep the projects coming. The manager of Transmission projects is an exceptional person who truly cares about the men and women that report to him. At the time of my employment with Forbes I worked on many projects from coast to coast. I would recommend them to anyone willing to put in an honest days work.

Pros

Room for advancement, excellent pay

Cons

Certain project management group lack a moral compass

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Great experience

Powerline Technician (Current Employee) - Saskatchewan - 27 August 2019

Everything was good except the weather it was awful, which will get you to push your self to the limits, however once you get that paycheque you’ll forget the whole pain

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I was really happy while working for this company

Assembly Line Worker (Former Employee) - Medicine Hat, AB - 27 August 2019

I recomend this company ,to anyone who wants to change they're life style cuz your life really chances i appreciate what they did for me AND my family Thanks ,forb bros.ltd

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Fast paced client focused

Office Manager and Project Administrator (Former Employee) - Gillam, MB - 2 July 2019

Fast paced environment dedication to meeting planned schedules and providing a great working environment. Great team to work with and treat employees with respect and integrity.

Pros

Great team

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Trash company

Journeyman Lineman (Former Employee) - Canada - 22 June 2019

Traaaaaash company. Management doesn't take care of employees. They put you in the greasiest hotels. They dont pay any travel. They preach safety but want jobs done as fast as possible and will sewer you in a heart beat. Bunch of cack suckers at this company.

Pros

None

Cons

Bad culture

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Don’t work here

Foreman (Former Employee) - Saskatchewan - 26 February 2019

Management problems .. always put work before safety.. supervisors throw u under table non stop if any issues arise Can’t report or refuse unsafe work . They preach safety first .. a lot of substance abuse ... not a brotherhood... trust me there are better companies

Pros

None

Cons

No family feeling, unsafe, Yorkton supervisor needs to go

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Decent company

Truck Driver / Equipment Operator (Former Employee) - All over Canada - 20 January 2019

Overall, not a bad outfit to work for. Pay could be better for experienced truckers and operators. If you're a lineman, they will treat you like gold. Everyone else is disposable. Safety is a big deal until it gets in the way of production. Then it goes out the window but that being said, most outfits are like that I guess. This place has its pros and cons just like any other big company. I was happy for the opportunity to work for these guys and I'd go work for them again if I needed to.