When it comes to career certifications, having a national certification actually works in favor of truck drivers, crane operators, and other heavy equipment operators. State certifications would do the trick, but if you moved to a new state, then you’d have to get a new certification. It would be a terribly inefficient system.

As it is, when you get your national certification for any heavy equipment training program, then it won’t matter where you live. You’ll be able to find a job.

There are two national heavy equipment certifications you should be concerned with:

• National Center For Construction Education & Research (NCCER) – NCCER is affiliated with the University of Florida, so that should take care of the credibility issue. When you complete your ATS training program for heavy equipment operations, you’ll receive national certification as a heavy equipment operator. With that certification, you’ll be able to go anywhere in the U.S. and get a job.
• National Commission For The Certification Of Crane Operators (NCCCO) – The NCCCO is a specific certification designed to ensure safety among crane operators. This piece of heavy equipment is very popular and demands its own certification because of its uniqueness and specific safety challenges.

Additionally, if you wish to work as a rigger or signalperson, then you can be trained and certified to work in that capacity. It’s an additional level of training with additional levels of safety piled on by OSHA regulations.

Truck drivers also have their own brand of certification. It’s actually a license. Any commercial vehicle driver must have a CDL, or commercial drivers license. ATS can train you and prepare you to take your CDL test anywhere in the U.S.

If you are wondering whether you should seek training from a heavy equipment training school, let me make it easier for you to decide. Here are seven reasons why I believe you should seek training from a heavy equipment training school today.

1. You can apply online – It’s never been easier to initiate the career training you need to move ahead professionally. You can apply online with no commitment and no out of pocket expenses right now. There is no obligation just for applying.
2. A new class every month – You don’t have to wait long to start your training. A new class starts every two to four weeks.
3. Get your national certification – You can be nationally certified to operate a crane or any heavy equipment. It doesn’t matter which state you get your training in, you’ll be able to work anywhere in the U.S.
4. Get help finding a job – Associated Training Services (ATS) will help you land your first job through our Career Services Department.
5. Financial assistance – You don’t have to delay or put off your training due to your financial circumstances. You can get financial aid to start and complete your heavy equipment training. Military personnel can use their veterans benefits. With loans and grants, you can get your training and start your career in just a few weeks.
6. Train on more equipment – ATS will train you on more equipment than any other training school. You’ll be trained to operate a backhoe, bulldozer, scraper, crane, grader, loader, forklift, rock truck, excavator, and much more.
7. OSHA-compliant – All ATS training is OSHA-compliant.

There is no reason not to start your heavy equipment training. Start your training today.

Being qualified to perform a certain job and being certified to perform the tasks of that job are two different things. Specifically, we can talk about heavy equipment operations vs. crane operators.

National certification not only qualifies you to be a heavy equipment operator, but it ensures that you can go anywhere in the country and get a job. You can prove that you can handle the tasks of operating heavy equipment on the work site. Because you can prove your qualifications, your national certification contains a value that simple qualification does not.

What do I mean?

To be qualified as a heavy equipment operator, all you need to do is prove you know how to operate the equipment. You don’t need certification for that. Just jump into the driver’s seat and start operating. Certification, however, protects you and your employer from operator error or mishaps beyond your control.

We live in a highly litigant society. Any slight miscalculation can lead to an unfortunate event. If you don’t have the credentials that prove your qualification, then it could be a liability issue – for you and your employer.

That’s why ATS takes heavy equipment certification seriously. We want what is best for employers and employees. When we train you to operate heavy equipment, we certify you and make sure you are ready to start your career on the right foot. What more could you ask for?

Associated Training Services and ATS Specialized recognized early on those employers who hire truck drivers and heavy equipment operators have specialized needs. Not all construction companies and heavy equipment employers are the same. Some have very specific needs that cannot be addressed by the open market.

That’s why we introduced our employer-specific training courses.

With our employer-specific training, we’ll come to your work site (or you can come to our facilities – but it’s often more efficient for us to come to you) and train your employees on the equipment you need them to know how to operate. This is a great training option when you have several employees who need the same type of training.

The alternative is, you pay for transportation for all of your employees to come to Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, pay for their lodging while they are here, and then pay for the training. It’s much less expensive to let us come to you.

You can get the training you need for all of your employees much cheaper.

We provide training for a group of employees on essentially any heavy equipment you may use on your work sites. We’ll provide training for qualification and for certification on crane operations, rigging, signalperson, truck driving, and all the standard heavy equipment. Our training classes are OSHA-compliant and we guarantee your satisfaction. Employees will receive certification from a nationally accredited training school.

Learn more about our employee-specific on-site training options today.

National credential benefits the heavy equipment industry in a number of ways. First, it’s a great way to ensure safe practices in the workforce. If there is one industry standard for best safety practices, then it’s easier to ensure that every job site employs the safest equipment operators and operates efficiently according to industry guidelines.

Another way national certification benefits the industry is it cuts back on regulation.

If the heavy equipment industry is policing its own ranks, then the government (federal or state) won’t have to. That means there will be fewer regulations and fewer regulators climbing all over our backs.

Organizations like National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators and National Center for Construction Education & Research do a lot to ensure that the heavy equipment industry employs safe workers and uses the best safe practices on the job site. One way that is done is through training. If you get trained by an organization on good terms with these two industry certification authorities, then you start your career off on the right foot.

Many employers won’t hire you if you aren’t certified. Many of them won’t even talk to you.

On a personal note, national certification is a benefit to you because you can go anywhere in the country and get a job. You don’t have to transfer your certification from one state to another, and you don’t have to worry about getting re-certified if you relocate. Your certification is good in every state.

Heavy equipment certification benefits everyone, including you as an employee.

When you’re looking to get grader training you want to get the best training that you can and that generally means that you’ll want to look at the best place possible. Associated Training Services is the place where you’ll get the help that you need to start off on the right foot when it comes to the best in heavy equipment training.

These are the people that know how to impress the clients that they train as well as the industry that they work for. It’s important to look at all of the features when you’re looking into this kind of endeavor, and at the top of the list is the reputation of the place that you’re thinking of choosing.

This is one of the areas where ATS fits the bill perfectly. The firm was started in the 1950s by the father of the the sons that run the place today, and to that end there has been a consistency to the top notch service that you get here for nearly fifty years.

And the commitment to quality shows. These are the folks that have been recognized with the national certification that puts them at the top of the industry and they’ve got the best in job placement techniques that help cement their relationship.

Remember that when you want the best in grader training you need to come and see the experts at Associated Training Services. These are the people that have been in business long enough that you know you can trust what they’ve got to say.

If you want to operate heavy machinery in the U.S. then you should seek national certification. It will help boost your career in so many ways.

The National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) was set up specifically to provide heavy machinery operators a way to get certified on the equipment they operate daily. Due to a shortage in heavy machinery operators and no standardized way to test the ones who are working, a need developed to maintain a standard operating practice that would let employers know they have the best skilled workers on their crew. That’s where national certification came in. Today, the leading construction companies in the world recognize NCCER and ATS is at the forefront of providing safe heavy equipment training.

All ATS schools are accredited by NCCER. That means when you get your diploma from the ATS Heavy Equipment Training School, you are qualified to work anywhere that heavy machinery is in operation. No one can question your skills.

Founded in 1995, NCCER is a not-for-profit agency. When you graduate from an ATS school, you’ll be qualified to work on any equipment any where. It doesn’t matter where you went to school. Your skills will be known as first among the class. And the National Registry of graduates qualified on heavy equipment will be available to employers so that your skills and background can be checked, making it easier for you to get the job you want.

If being a heavy equipment operator is in your future, you’ll want to be certified by the National Center for Construction Education and Research.