Not all infrastructure construction projects are the same. Here is a look at how there are many kinds of infrastructure projects and as the federal money becomes available for these projects, what you can expect to see in demand and what kind of jobs will become available.

• Bridges
• Roads
• Airports
• Mass Transit
• Water Supply Projects
• Power Plants and Power Generation
• Waste Management Facilities
• Hazardous Waste Facilities and Removal
• Telecommunications

Construction companies will need knowledgeable, trained workers who can operate heavy equipment, cranes, and hand tools. There will be a need for carpenters, steelworkers, roofers, electricians, painters, and plumbers.

We offer an extensive variety of training programs for those interested in a career in the construction industry. We offer CDL training, heavy equipment operator training, training for being a signalperson or rigger, crane operator training, and more. To learn more about the different educational programs we offer for construction workers, call us today. Financial assistance is available.

According to experts, infrastructure construction and engineering are booming. The Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act (IIJA) is providing $1 trillion-plus in revenue opportunities for engineering and contractors to take on infrastructure projects.

Experts anticipate infrastructure construction to surpass residential construction as the mainstream of revenue for construction companies with large public investments being made readily available. In the past, there has been an underfunding of infrastructure projects, so there is much catching up to do and this provides states, counties, and towns with the opportunity to develop their infrastructure in a way to benefit their communities and businesses.

The American Society of Civil Engineers has released statistics showing that there is a $2.59 trillion gap in investing in infrastructure during the last decade. That means the current state of infrastructure is lacking and the current funding gives government bodies the opportunity to correct problems and improve infrastructure systems.

Where to get training?

With the increase in infrastructure construction and the IIJA funds, there will be an increased need for qualified construction workers. That means that well-trained construction workers are definitely in demand. Workers who can operate different kinds of heavy equipment as well as those who can handle hand tools are a necessity.

If you have not undergone the proper training, you should consider enrolling in a school that offers extensive training in the construction trade. You need to be trained in all aspects of the trade, including safe operation and OSHA guidelines. Contact us for details about our different construction training programs.

When you need to remove accumulated sediment from the bottom or sides of a body of water, you will need to dredge. Dredging is a process that removes the accumulated sediment. Dredging can be used to remove sediment from the bottom of the river, stream, pond, lake, or off the banks or sides. A dredge is a special kind of equipment that creates a vacuum to suck up and then pump out the unwanted debris and sediment.

A natural process, sedimentation occurs when debris along with sand and silt accumulate on the bottom of the body of water – the canal, stream, pond, lake, or river – with the passage of time. The general public depends on these bodies of water to transport goods to their destination, for recreation, and for fishing. When sedimentation occurs, these bodies of water can be environmental hazards and they can become more challenging to navigate safely.

Removing the sediment that has accumulated often becomes necessary. Dredging becomes a necessity for the health of the waterway so it can be used for commercial processes and applications. Dredging offers fast, efficient, and affordable solutions. Not all dredges are the same, and different kinds of dredges take care of the sediment removal process in different ways.

During the dredging process, the dredge is either completely or partially submerged in the water. The dredge operator will be able to gather the sediment and get it moved to another location. After the dredging project is done, the sediment is relocated to another location and can be used for various things, such as construction fill, flood defense on the beach, or mixed with additives so topsoil can be enhanced and improved.

You will need specialized training to operate a dredge. ATS offers specialized heavy equipment training. To learn more about the specialized programs from ATS, call today at (800) 383-7364.

MasTec, Inc., is an American leading specialty contractor. The company designs, engineers, and constructs infrastructure for oil and natural gas pipelines, electric power transmission and generation, turnkey solutions for water and sewer, specialized foundation construction, alternative-fuel power plants, solar energy facilities, wind farms, natural gas power plants, and much more.

The company employs more than 22,000 skilled professionals. MasTec has been in business for more than eight decades and has established itself as an industry leader. The company is a Fortune 500 company. The company headquarters are based in Coral Gables, Florida. The annual revenue was $4.208 billion as of 2015.

Company Subsidiaries

There are several company subsidiaries. Among those subsidiaries are Nsoro Acquisition LLC, MasTec North America Inc., Wanzek Construction Inc., QuadGen Wireless Solutions, Kingsley Constructors Inc., E Source Services LLC, Bottom Line Services LLC, Precision Acquisition Corporation, Big Country Energy Services LP, and more.

These subsidiaries are multinational contractors that build high voltage electric transmission lines, wind farms, oil and natural gas pipelines, and solar power facilities. The company is constantly hiring new team members. To work for MasTec, you must have undergone extensive training and have the skills that you need to perform the job professionally and productively.

Specialized Training

Associated Training Services (ATS), a family-owned and operated school since 1959, offers a variety of training programs, including heavy equipment training, NCCCO certified mobile crane training, NCCCO rigger level-I training, and HDD horizontal direction drilling training, and Class-A CDL training. Through career services, ATS works with MasTec. MasTec hires students who have participated in the various educational and training programs offered at ATS.

To learn more about ATS and the different training programs available, call (800) 383-7364. Financial aid is available, and ATS is a veteran-friendly school that participates in the GI Bill. ATS works with a variety of employers that offer individuals the opportunity to establish themselves in the industry and build lifelong careers.

Reports have indicated that there were 4,000 construction jobs added during May 2019. The Associated General Contractors of America reported that during the last 12 months there has been a 3 percent increase, which totals 215,000 new jobs. That is a significant construction jobs increase.

The number of those in the construction industry looking for employment is at a record low. The lowered unemployment rate and the increase in jobs are being credited to a tight job market instead of a decrease in projects. Many experts expect the trend to continue.

According to the Association, the construction industry’s unemployment rate is even lower than the unemployment rate throughout the country overall. While the average salary in the construction industry is 10 percent greater than employment in the private sector, the number of openings for workers in the construction field continues to climb.

Looking At Unemployment Rates

In May 2018, the construction industry had an unemployment rate of 4.4 percent. One year later – in May 2019 – the unemployment rate for the industry had dropped to 3.2 percent. Looking at the numbers, that is a drop from 415,000 to 294,000 construction workers. Both the unemployment rate and the actual number of unemployed construction workers were at their lowest since 2000.

A government report indicated that in April 2019 there were 360,000 construction job openings in April 2019. That figure was the highest in the last 19 years of recordkeeping for that specific detail. The average hourly rate in the construction industry is $30.68, and that amount is about 10 percent higher than the average rate of $27.83 in the private sector.

Since there is a limited number of workers available, many companies offer construction workers better benefits and are increasing pay rates. More construction companies are working diligently to recruit the most experienced and better-trained workers to fill any open positions.

Getting The Right Training

If you are interested in a construction career, you should get the proper training so you can be prepared for the job. Associated Training Services (ATS) offers a variety of hands-on training programs. Call us today to learn how we can help you get on track to a new career.

Landscaping covers a variety of roles. It covers a variety of activities that modify the visible features of land, including all living elements, such as fauna and flora. Landscaping incorporates gardening, which involves the art and craft of growing plants with the central focus and goal of creating an attractive landscape.

Landscape Equipment

There are several different kinds of equipment used for landscaping. Examples of landscaping equipment include:

• Tractors
• Augers and bits
• Tillers and cultivators
• Snow removal equipment
• Mowers
• Handheld blowers
• Chainsaws
• Brushcutters
• Weedeaters
• Trimmers and edgers
• Pressure washers
• Generators
• Power tools

The Duties of a Landscaper

A landscaper has a variety of responsibilities. Here are some of those duties:

• Building maintenance and groundskeeping tasks.
• Mow the lawn.
• Trim the lawn’s edges, including around walks, flower beds, and walls.
• Plant flowers, grass, shrubs, and bushes and keep them looking their best.
• Fertilize the ground to enhance growth.
• Apply pesticides to get rid of pests, such as ticks, fleas, wasps, and mosquitoes.
• Shovel snow from walkways and ramps.
• Sprinkle salt to prevent falls.
• Remove snow from parking lots.
• Perform routine maintenance duties, such as fixing fountains and applying plaster as needed.
• Sweeping walkways and porches.
• Blowing leaves off sidewalks and away from structures.
• Cutting down dangerous tree limbs.
• Trim shrubs and plants and pull weeds.
• Perform maintenance and minor repairs to landscaping equipment.
• Install lawn furniture.
• Mulch, prune, and rake around the grounds as needed.
• Install cement, rock, water, lighting, and furniture.
• Water plants and grass.

Training and On-the-Job Experience

To handle the duties of landscaping, you need to get the proper training. There are specialty schools that offer those who want to pursue a career in the landscape field the proper training. ATS offers training for many different career fields. To learn more about the landscaping opportunities available and to register for classes, call one of our friendly representatives today at (800) 383-7364.

A broad term that is used to describe boring that doesn’t go in a vertical straight line, the directional drilling process is used in the oil and gas industry. Even a vertical well, deviation might be needed to get around a geological formation or a pipe before returning to the planned path.

The driller might use sidetracking techniques, which is a kind of directional drilling. When it comes to conventional drilling for gas and oil, the drill string, drill bit, casing, and pipe all go down in a straight line. If the drill operator aims the equipment away from the 180-degree down angle, that would technically be directional drilling.

In this modern age with technological advances, there will most likely be a series of pre-planned directional changes throughout the drilling process. Directional drilling has been used for more than a century.

Technological Advances

Technological improvements during the last few decades have helped improve turns, angles, and underground distances that are covered more efficiently and effectively. Techniques such as extended reach drilling (ERD), horizontal drilling, and multilateral drilling are enhanced approaches that are used for oil recovery that increase the downhole yield significantly.

ERD specialists can drill at depths or distances that exceed 6.2 miles. When the drilling rig is imagined as the tree trunk, the directional possibilities of the roots or paths are endless. When you look at the branches of the roots as multilateral drilling, the options are countless.

What Makes Directional Drilling Valuable?

Multiple downholes can be drilled using the same rig, which can reduce the disturbance on the surface and limit the impact on the environment. This approach allows boreholes to reach as far as a mile down and as far as five miles at angles where they are shallow. If you are in an oilfield that has dispersed deposits, drillers can tap a large radius. In turn, this maximizes the rig asset.

Directional drill operators need specialized training, which can be attained at special training schools. Call Associated Training Schools today to learn about the directional drill training program. ATS offers heavy equipment training in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.

Knowing how to locate underground utilities is important for the safety of everyone involved – construction workers and residents in the area. If digging commences without knowing the approximate location of any underground utilities, it can cause damage to water and sewer lines, gas, electric, and communications systems, causing service disruptions, resulting in expensive repairs, and leading to serious injuries.

Utilities are Buried Everywhere

There are more than 20 million miles of underground utilities spanning the United States. Reports indicate about 38.6 million people will start digging before they know where the underground utilities are located, and they will cause injuries and damage. You should always have underground utilities properly marked before starting to dig. 

Properly Locating Underground Utilities

By properly locating underground utilities, or by calling 811 to have utilities marked, you can decrease the chances of damaging underground utilities when you dig to less than 1 percent. While sometimes searching for underground utilities seems like guesswork, it has become advanced technological perfection in recent years.

Electromagnetic locating is effective in finding underground utilities. These devices are omnidirectional. They are antennas wrapped around a sphere that lets the user have a complete 360-degree view of what lies under the ground.

Before the new equipment was invented, underground utilities had to be located perpendicular to a line and swing back and forth to find the path. Now the line can be approached from any direction and it can still discover the utilities. Knowing the exact location of underground utilities is especially important when gas lines are involved because an explosion could result.

Integrating the Devices with Updated Equipment

Omnidirectional antennas have been integrated with new apps for mobile devices that include GPS. This will let the user apply digital paint on a satellite map, so they will have future references. That way, on any return visits to the site the user, can pull up the map and then see where the utilities are located so they will know exactly where to start.

Thanks to advanced technology, the mobile app can be integrated with geographic information systems (GIS) to allow the user to add data while making a layered visual that provides multiple data sets. You can then create a complete, useful image of what is underground, so you will know how to proceed with future projects.

There is a great demand for heavy equipment operators. Heavy equipment operator jobs are positions in the construction industry. These positions include driving, maneuvering, and controlling heavy machinery that is used in the process of constructing a variety of structures, including bridges, roads, and various buildings. Heavy equipment operators work in all kinds of weather, and they can expect to get dusty, muddy, greasy, and dirty. Most people in these roles work full-time, and many of them work overtime. They might have irregular work schedules since many construction projects, especially road construction projects, are done at night.

How to Prepare for a Heavy Equipment Operator Role

If you are interested in finding employment as a heavy equipment operator, you should get the proper training. After having earned a high school diploma or equivalent, you can attend a training school. Overall employment for heavy equipment operators in the construction industry is expected to grow 12% from 2016 to 2026, which comes out to 52,700 new jobs. That is at a much higher rate than the average for all occupations. The increased availability of jobs in the construction industry is expected because of increased spending on infrastructure during the next decade. Those who are trained to work multiple kinds of heavy equipment have the best chance of finding employment and getting the best job opportunities.

The Salary of a Heavy Equipment Operator

Heavy equipment operators can earn a very competitive salary in today’s workforce. As of May 2017, the median annual wage for a construction equipment operator was $46,080 annually or about $22.15 per hour. The annual wages can vary significantly from one state to another, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For example, New York has 12,520 heavy equipment operators with an average annual salary of $77,580, Pennsylvania has 20,560 heavy equipment operators with an average annual salary of $50,340, and Tennessee has 5,170 heavy equipment operators who earn an average salary of $40,790 per year.

Different Fields That Require Heavy Equipment Operators

There are several different construction fields that need heavy equipment operators. These include utility system construction, state government agencies, local government agencies, specialty trade contractors, building contractors, and highway, street, and bridge construction companies. With the increasing need for heavy equipment operators, it is a great field to consider when making a career move. ATS offers training for heavy equipment operators, including directional drilling, mobile crane operation, and various kinds of equipment including:

• Scrapers
• Motor graders
• Excavators
• All-terrain forklifts
• Backhoes
• Bulldozers
• Wheel loaders
• Excavators
• Articulated dump trucks

To learn more about Associated Training Services, call (800) 383-7364 today.

Excavating done with a suction excavator is referred to as vacuum excavation. Suction excavators produce powerful suction through a wide pipe as big as one foot in diameter. The suction inlet airspeed might be as fast as 220 miles per hour. There may be two handles on the suction nozzle for the operator to hold. Those handles might be a rotatable collar that uncovers suction-release opening that has grilles over them. These are uncovered to release the suction and make the suction nozzle drop anything too big to go inside the tube that it has picked up.

Vacuum excavation uses compressed air to disturb the soil, which is then vacuumed up into a debris tank. Air excavation is used to safely expose underground utilities and then allows you to backfill with dry material. Vacuum excavation is used for various utility projects, such as for underground electric wires and broadband cables as well as sewer and septic lines. Vacuum excavation is a very beneficial approach used in construction today.

Operating A Suction Excavator

To safely and professionally operate a suction excavator, you will need to undergo extensive training. There are training programs where you can learn these skills. These training programs include classroom training as well as hands-on experience. ATS offers specialized training programs for various machinery and equipment as well.

While programs are available for individuals needing training, there are also programs available for employers to train their employee’s new skills. Employer training grants are available. We offer a field training module for utilities, which gives participants the chance to apply the knowledge that they have obtained during the training.

Salary Expectations for Vacuum Excavation

The average salary for someone who operates a vacuum excavator or who works in hydro excavation is about $74,175 per year. There is a need for additional workers in this career field, so it is a great job to consider when making career decisions. To learn more about vacuum excavation operator training and other specialized training programs available, call ATS at (800) 383-7364 today. ATS has been offering customized training programs since 1959. Become an alumnus of this established training school.