Sometimes we downplay the role of excavators and their work digging trenches. After all, digging trenches doesn’t really sound interesting. Mining, demolition and other jobs can sound far more interesting; however, there is no denying the important role that excavators play in servicing our nation. Today, when a new housing estate is being built, most of the services to each home are there because of the work of an excavator.

Waste water leaving the home; fresh water, electricity and telephone going in to the home; they are all provided using below ground connections. Those below ground connections are there because of the expert work undertaken by excavator operators. If you think about it, digging trenches is more than just digging a hole. The trench needs to be accurately dug so that all connections meet where the plans indicate. If they don’t, repairers will have problems in years to come, locating the pipes when required.

Trenches for waste water, fresh water and electricity (and often gas) are normally dug at different levels. Working as an excavator operator means you need to work as part of a team, be able to read and follow plans, and be able to operate with precision. This requires skills and experience. However, all excavators start somewhere and that is where heavy equipment training plays its role.

By undertaking a professional heavy equipment training program you develop a set of basic skills that enable you to work as an excavator operator. Over time, you will develop skills in certain tasks to the point you could be called an expert. This may well be digging trenches and helping to deliver services to our new homes. Excavator operators – without them our housing would develop at a snail’s pace!

It’s one thing to undertake training in heavy equipment, it’s another to land that first job. This is where our Career Services option comes into play and, being a free service, it’s there to be used. Having spent nigh on 40 years training people to work in heavy equipment, crane operations and truck driving, we know what employers are looking for in new recruits. Not only that, our Career Services department has developed a strong network of contacts within the various industries, contacts you can use to your advantage.

Our Career Services option starts with a personal interview with each student to determine which sector of industry they want to work in and which geographic location best suits their needs. We also provide a package that includes a list of possible employers based on that information. We do the hard work for them in collating those possible employers. This means each student can start targeting employers before they have even completed their training.

Our service doesn’t end there. During training, we also offer training in soft skills designed to help you land that ‘dream job’. These soft skills include interview techniques, application procedures and networking skills. The latter is one of the most important if you want a long career in the industry. It’s through networking that you gain a solid reputation and, if you become highly proficient, find employers knocking on your door rather you knocking on theirs.

Our Careers Services department also offers an online resource where graduates and employers can connect. We also provide a Jobs Leads Database that contains contact details for thousands of potential employers. If you put the complete Career Services package together then you have a highly efficient mechanism designed with one aim in mind – to help you land your first job in either heavy equipment, crane operations or truck driving. Looking for a career change? It’s all here waiting for you!

A story this week from the Orange County Register is a timely reminder that even bulldozers face situations that are dangerous and require skilled operators. Bulldozers are often thought of as muscle machines that just get in and get a job done. They are strong and its their strength that is relied upon to complete jobs quickly, but this news story adds a high level of caution.

There are houses around the Anaheim Hills area that are threatening to slide down the hill and onto a busy freeway. As a home owner, I guess the last thing you want is to find your home on the freeway and the living room now the fast lane. Houses were bought, residents moved out and now it’s time for the bulldozers to move in and demolish them.

Being subject to landslides, heavy earth moving will be tricky. They may only be knocking down the homes, but that is not a simple task under these conditions. Bulldozer operators will need to be vigilant, not just in watching the ground around them, but also in ‘feeling’ the ground as they slowly pull these buildings down. These skills cannot be taught; they can only be gained through experience. However, if you read this blog often enough, one philosophy we always promote is that of your skills base. If you don’t have a good grounding in operating heavy equipment, you will never truly become a proficient operator.

A good skills base is a little like a building and its foundations. Weak foundations and the building will eventually fall. Good strong foundations and the building will be around for a long time. You can develop a good skills foundation by ensuring your heavy equipment training is delivered by accredited training organizations. ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools is accredited and delivers training that has been accredited to national standards. If you are looking to become a bulldozer operator, contact us now to start developing your skills foundations.

One of the benefits of a truck driving career is that you get to choose the type of trucks you want to drive and where you want drive. This is important to many people who don’t want to wander too far from home each day. However, local truck driving jobs are not restricted to just local deliveries of goods. There are other options. Likewise, distance driving doesn’t have to mean interstate, you can also drive intrastate, that is, from one city or county to the next. Here is a list of the types of jobs and trucks you could be driving:

Local – deliveries, parcels and packages, food items, building materials. Trucks used include refrigerated trucks, specialist trucks, large vans and open trucks.

Regional – grain handling, heavy equipment, furniture, building materials and cement. Trucks used include specialist trucks, flat beds, large vans and dump trucks.

Intrastate – grain handling, petroleum products, furniture and produce and may involve specialist trucks, tractor trailers, large flat bed trucks and large delivery vans.

Interstate – petroleum products, motor vehicles, furniture, produce. This work traditionally involves large tractor trailer rigs although specialist trucks, flat beds and large vans are also used.

There is a large cross-over of trucks used and materials carried. I have really only touched the surface since every single product used has to be transported at some stage. That is one of the great things about truck driving as a career – the type of work and the type of vehicles available is so varied you will always find something that suits your interests.

You can start a truck driving career with as little as three weeks training that readies you for both the workplace and the mandatory licensing processes. Call ATS Truck Driving School for more information on truck driver training programs.

If you are a crane operator and you haven’t been certified then now may be a good time to consider undergoing the crane operator certification assessment. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OHSA) is introducing federal certification requirements for crane operators with the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO) the organization charged with setting standards and issuing certificates. These standards are expected to be set in July although a start date is unknown at present.

Crane certification is already compulsory in some states and the effect in reducing workplace accidents involving cranes has been noticeable. This is one reason behind the extension of this requirement nationwide. For many students of ATS Crane Operator Schools, the news will be welcome since they have not only completed their training, they have also completed the requirements for certification.

Our crane operator training program is undertaken full time over three weeks. ATS Crane Operator Schools has also been accredited to deliver assessments that lead to certification. This means student can undertake crane operator training and undertake the certification process, all in the one location. Graduates can then enter the work place fully certified in accordance with regulations.

If you are considering undertaking a crane operator training program, make sure it is accredited and check to see whether or not the training body is also accredited to deliver assessments that lead to crane operator certification. In the near future it will be mandatory so receiving certification soon after training makes a lot of sense.

Backhoe operators are always in demand and those that are very good at their jobs soon gain a reputation that only serves to increase the demand for their services. How then do you gain a reputation for being a proficient operator? Like all careers, it’s not that difficult with time and patience being your best attribute. The following tips will certainly help you reach your goal.

Foundation – you can only become truly proficient at something if you have a good skills base to begin with. Learn bad habits early and they can become very difficult to change later in life. Learn good habits early and you have the start of a good foundation. For backhoe operators, start by undertaking an accredited heavy equipment training program that exposes you to a range of heavy equipment. Naturally, the training program should include hands-on experience behind the controls of a backhoe.

Practice – finding an employer that is prepared to let you build your skills on the job is the next step in the learning process. Some training organizations have career services that can help you get that first job.

Variety – over time, you can really hone your skills by seeking employment with businesses that will provide you with a wide variety of work. You need a solid training base with a good work history to move into a position where the work requires a higher skill level. However, if you have the patience and you’re prepared to learn as much as you can along the way, you will find employers happy to hire you in these more advanced positions.

It all starts with good training and a willingness to continue learning on the job. If that sounds like you then a career as a backhoe operator is waiting. If you expect to undertake some basic training then move into a high paying highly skilled position – think again – even doctors can’t achieve that.

If I had a crystal ball that could see into the future there is one thing I know I will see – tougher heavy equipment safety requirements. In fact, I can see a day when all operators will require certification of some type. We have it in the form of licenses for truck drivers for decades; from July, it seems that all crane operators will need certification with the NCCCO one of the preferred certification bodies; and with recent workplace accidents, including the mine explosion this week, it will only get tougher for general heavy equipment operators.

You may look at the Montcoal mine explosion and wonder why that will impact on heavy equipment safety. It won’t directly – but it will impact on all workplaces over time. Workplace safety is becoming a fairly large issue so whenever there is a major incident, all workplace practices come under scrutiny. If there is a workplace incident that involves heavy equipment in the near future, it too will suddenly come under the microscope.

Workplace safety is important and for heavy equipment this has been recognized by including safety training in all accredited training programs. In fact, a heavy equipment training program cannot now become accredited unless there are safety training components included. The subject is not one we take lightly at ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools. Our heavy equipment training programs are all accredited to national standards.

If you are considering a career as a heavy equipment operator then do make sure your training includes workplace safety components. If in doubt, contact us here at ATS, we will happily supply you with information related to our accredited training programs and the heavy equipment safety standards included in that training.

Graders are perhaps the gentle giants of the heavy equipment industry. It’s not brute strength that gets the job done with a grader; it’s finesse. Their role is to do the final sculpting of a surface, particularly when it comes to road building. You can often see them working up and down a stretch of new road and they seem to be moving a tiny amount of material. Like a good sculptor, it is those small amounts that make a huge difference to the finished surface.

Learning to become a grader operator is actually quite easy. Like many professions, the finer points of the operating a grader can only come with experience and to be truly proficient, you need to base that experience on a solid training foundation. When it comes to training, you can watch someone else then copy their bad habits; you can get big dollars for training from an unqualified or non-accredited trainer; or you can find a local training company that is accredited as a heavy equipment training business; and that delivers training that has been accredited to national standards.

Now consider who you would employ if you were in the construction business. I don’t think I need to say any more. Accredited training is now a must when it comes to heavy equipment. In some states, you cannot work on a site without at least the safety component on this training. When searching for a training company to undertake grader training, look for a business like ATS.

At ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools we make grader operator training easy. In fact, along the way you will pick up skills and knowledge on a variety of heavy equipment – this gives you a wider range of equipment to work on after training. Our heavy equipment training programs run for three weeks and include in-class and behind-the-controls training. We also include safety components as required by many states. In fact, our training is accredited to national standards. This means your skills are going to be recognized nationwide. Grader operator training – do you want the easy way or the hard way?

Despite the tough times, or perhaps because of them, there is a lot of financial aid available for those considering a career as a heavy equipment operator. Financial aid can be found in two areas: career loans that you will need to repay and financial aid programs provided by various government departments. Realistically, if you don’t qualify for one – for example, a career loan – then there is a good chance you may qualify for one of the government programs.

The easiest way to handle the situation is to start by applying for financial aid at ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools. Your application will be processed quickly and someone will get back to you with the outcome. If you are not successful with a loan application, you can discuss which government programs may be suited to your situation. (Note: these programs are run by government departments so the criteria and the aid available is always changing. You will need to consult with their stake holders to ensure you do meet eligibility requirements – our advice can only be taken as a guide).

Financial loans can be a great way to retrain for a new career. When it comes to heavy equipment, your training is completed in three weeks and then you’re ready to enter the workplace. Considering the paychecks available to operators, your loan will be repaid many times over within the first twelve months of employment.

If you have been considering a career change, or your looking to re-enter the workplace and a career as a heavy equipment operator appeals to you, contact us to find out whether or not there is financial aid available to meet the costs of heavy equipment training.

There is a lot of activity in and around many of our towns and cities now with landscapers repairing winter’s damage and preparing for summer. Skip loaders have become a weapon of choice for many landscapers. They can get into tight areas, are versatile when it comes to the type of work involved and very economical, particularly when you compare the cost of doing a job by hand.

One area you will see skips loaders and skid steer loaders at work these days is in the area of re-turfing lawns that have been damaged over winter. Skip loaders can be handy tools for these jobs. They are able to get under the old turf and slice through it like you would a cake. The old turf can then be dumped into trucks for removal. Skip loaders are also handy when it comes to moving new rolls of turf ready for laying in place. If you have ever manually laid turf, you will know how heavy each roll can be. The skip loader makes short work off carrying a load to the area to be laid.

Loaders are versatile machines and, in spring, in high demand. Operators that run their own business often find that spring brings so much work they are booked out for weeks in advance and have to refuse new work. Whether you’re operating skip loaders or full size loaders, the demand for operators is there and with training only requiring three weeks of your time; you could be ready for work well before the end of spring.

If you want to join the landscaping profession as a loader operator, consider a heavy equipment training program that provides skills across a range of light and heavy equipment. With skills across a range of heavy equipment, you will be surprised at how many landscapers snap you up for work.