Sooner or later, anybody who loves a heavy equipment operator is going to want to get a gift for that person, and not just any gift will do. You might want to honor a recent graduate from one of the ATS Training Classes, for instance. The schedule goes all year round for heavy equipment, crane, and CDL license training so there’s always a new group of graduates ready to face the future.

Of course, the coming holidays have gifts on everybody’s mind, too. But there are only so many “I DRIVE A LOADER” coffee mugs anybody wants, so choosing the right kind of gift is a good idea.

The Skilled Trades Deserve The Best Gift

A heavy equipment or crane operator will generally be doing a challenging job outside. Truck drivers are in and out of the cab, too. Think about giving work gear that makes the job easier:

• Good work gloves
• Comfortable, protective work boots
• Winter gear that handles sweat and times of inaction, like high tech long underwear
• High-performance socks
• Travel mugs that don’t spill and keep drinks hot or cold
• Gift certificates for gear

Every job has different challenges, and the list may change with a specific location. The idea to keep in mind is that a professional who works in the skilled trades industry is going to appreciate a gift that can be used hard every day. It’s better to give a hard-working heavy equipment operator one expensive, high-quality item that will last for years than it is to give a pile of cheaper presents that break by next year.

This week there are job listings for crane operators, CDL Class-A truck drivers, and heavy equipment operators. The jobs are scattered all over the country from top to bottom. Each one of these openings could be filled by a graduate of ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Training School because that graduate would have the knowledge, skills, and certifications needed to qualify.

Every one of our graduates walks out to their future with a list of job possibilities custom-picked by the results of individual career counseling and Employment Assistance that is available for a lifetime of skilled professionals.

BELFIELD, ND — hiring crane operators

KENNETT, MO — hiring CDL Class-A truck drivers

HOUSTON, TX — hiring crane operators

MIAMI, FL — hiring crane operators

LAKEVILLE, MN — hiring crane operators

BATON ROUGE, LA — hiring heavy equipment operators

DURHAM, NC — hiring crane operators

HOUSTON, TX — hiring crane operators

OLATHE, KS — hiring CDL Class-A truck drivers

NEW AUBURN, WI — hiring heavy equipment operators

BRANSON, MO — hiring CDL Class-A truck drivers

STREETSBORO, OH — hiring heavy equipment operators

SUSQUEHANNA, PA — hiring CDL Class-A truck drivers

If none of these openings is where you are looking for work, take the time to look through the offerings available at the Total Resources Network, a resource made available to our graduates and a great place to find the employment leads, networking, and related career avenues you may need.

Sometimes the skilled trades, like heavy equipment operation, seem like an invisible career. The only guy who seems to be famous and blue-collar is Mike Rowe, the guy who has become famous for trying out dirty and unusual jobs on TV. But as Mike would say, “somebody’s gotta do it”, and think about what happens if nobody does that job?

Skilled Trades Have Permanent Physical Impact

In any skilled trade, the result of a job well done is a change in the surroundings somehow. With heavy equipment, that change is pretty obvious, but somehow society forgets that something like plumbing depends on somebody being able to dig a ditch. All the changes to the landscape that make life easier happen because somebody knows how to operate heavy equipment.

The big jobs that are done with big machinery are jobs that change the world. If you can do a job that changes your world, straighten up and stand tall because you make a big difference in a lot of lives.

Skilled Trade Professionals Have Credentials

The two national organizations that ATS works with to provide credentialing for the heavy equipment workforce are:

• NCCER — the National Center for Construction Education & Research
• NCCCO — the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators

Being able to show a potential employer that you have these certifications shows that high standards have already been met in your training and that you have passed the tests required to show mastery of the skills required. As a result, these credentials are valued throughout the industries that rely on heavy equipment to get a job done.

If you are a skilled heavy equipment operator with the credentials to prove it, you can stand up taller in confidence that you are a valuable professional.

If you are a veteran of any US military service, we want to say “thank you” for the sacrifices you have made. Well over two thousand military veterans have gone through our training programs and we are impressed with you all. Here are ways Veterans benefit.

Standard Military Benefits

ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Training School is qualified to provide training under a number of federal and state programs, so make sure you ask about the Military and Veterans Benefits available to you. Our financial assistance department is experienced in all the paperwork that is involved and can help you figure out how to pay for your training here.

No matter which branch you served with if you are active or a veteran, there may be a benefits program available to you. It’s a good reason to explore your options!

A Military Benefit You Only Will Find Here

Another benefit available to some veterans is exclusive to ATS. Since the middle of September 2014, Associated Training Services has added a housing voucher to cover the full cost of a double room at the ATS dormitory. This is our housing facility and it is a great place to stay during your training.

To qualify, you’ll need to be honorably discharged and submit your Form DD214 to the School Registrar. It’s one more way we can thank those who serve, and the voucher is good for the entire time of your training. That means it has a value between $360 and $2,040, or $120 per week. It’s not good for cash or at any other facility but it’s all you will need for housing while you train for your civilian career in heavy equipment.

There are quite a few class-A CDL truck driver openings this week. That’s not hard to understand because this is the time of the year when somebody who can drive a dump truck with a spreader or a snow plow is in high demand. It takes heavy equipment operators and Class-A CDL truck drivers to keep the roads clear in winter weather.

There are a couple of crane operator openings, too. This highly specialized skilled trade is one that often comes up as a need in many kinds of industries. The best way to be prepared for careers in heavy equipment, no matter what kind of machinery we are talking about, is by getting the professional training and certification needed in your field.

One of the biggest advantages of ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Training School is the fact that the Employment Assistance doesn’t stop when you graduate. There’s help finding a job in your field as long as you need it. Here’s this week’s list:

OMAHA, NE — hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL — hiring crane operators

COMMERCE, CA — hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers

ANCHORAGE, AK — hiring crane operators

SAUK CITY, WI — hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers

NEENAH, WI — hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers

BALDWINSVILLE, NY — hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers

BLACK EARTH, WI — hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers

Another advantage that ATS offers is the job site, a perfect place to explore and see what the skilled trades industries hold for your future.

On February 15, 1854, an engineering marvel was opened: The Horseshoe Curve in the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania. This piece of railroad track meant that travelers between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh could make the trip entirely by rail in about 15 hours. That was a big improvement from the 4 days of canal & train the trip involved in previous years.

Here are the statistics:

• length of the curve — 2375 feet
• the degree of curvature — 9 degrees; 25 minutes; the central angle is 220 degrees
• elevation of the lower east end — 1594 feet
• elevation of the upper west end — 1716 feet
• total elevation climb — 122 feet
• grade — 1.8% (1.8 foot rise per 100 feet)

And what kind of heavy equipment did they use to do this excavating? Men with hand tools. About 450 workers, many from Ireland, were paid 25 cents per hour and worked 12 hour days to carve out the mountain at Kittanning Point and get the railroad through. That was some serious shovel work for 3 dollars a day.

Today The Job Market Is Different

The maps on the ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Training School listing recent wage guidelines for skilled operators list 2011 wages going from entry-level $12.85 an hour up to $24.57 an hour for specialty industries.

The job is more complicated than excavating with a shovel alone and the work goes much faster with the machinery doing the excavating. But the skill of the worker still has to be there, and the satisfaction of seeing a permanent benefit from your hard work might be just the same as those guys leaning on their shovels looking at the work they did on Horseshoe Curve.

When a heavy equipment operator can say they know how to run a skid steer loader, they are saying they can do a lot of amazing things in a small machine. The size and versatility of skid steer loaders make them very valuable on a construction or logging site because the loader can operate in a small space but do big, big jobs.

In order to do those big jobs, the operator needs to be able to understand exactly how the skid loader works and manipulate the controls without stalling. Some skid steer loaders have been designed to eliminate this problem but not all have done so. The skid steer loader can turn in its own footprint and maneuver in tight situations if the operator is experienced.

During training at ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Training School, there will be in-the-seat training in a variety of pieces of equipment and they will be challenging at first. The skid steer loader doesn’t maneuver like the bulldozer, for instance. It also isn’t at all like driving a dump truck. Each type of heavy equipment is slightly different to operate because it has been designed for specific tasks.

Skid steer loaders are able to be outfitted with a variety of tools on the arms:

• various buckets: dirt, utility, multi-purpose, grapple
• various forks: pallet, utility, industrial grapple
• angle blade
• auger
• broom
• cold planer
• hydraulic hammer
• landscape rake & tillers
•  material handling arm
• stump grinder
• trencher
• vibratory compactor

This versatility makes the skid steer loader one of those machines that challenge an operator because every type of tool will take a slightly different technique to perfect. But it also means the operator who can meet the challenge of the skid steer loader is somebody in demand on the work site.

There are a lot of types of jobs listed this week, from heavy equipment operation to crane operators and class-A CDL truck drivers. The jobs are all over the country, too. If you are hoping to locate to a new area, being in one of the skilled trade industries makes it easier to find a job, and being a graduate of ATS means you have lifetime Employment Assistance available.

Here are the possibilities:

NEW LONDON, WI — hiring heavy equipment operators

BATAVIA, IL — hiring heavy equipment operators

PALESTINE, TX — hiring heavy equipment operators

WESTON, WI — hiring heavy equipment operators

PHOENIX, AZ — hiring heavy equipment operators

GREEN BAY, WI — hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers

SOPHIA, WV — hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers

GREELY, CO — hiring heavy equipment operators

AMHERST, WI — hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers

CHARLESTON, SC — hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers

MONTICELLO, MN — hiring heavy equipment operators

CLAYTON, AL — hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers

MILTON, WI — hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers

KENDALLVILLE, IN — hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers

If none of these are where you need to be looking, take a look at the placement website. You can filter the database of job leads for location and your qualifications to see exactly what is available for those parameters. You can post your application and resume, too. It’s easy to do if you are an ATS grad because you learn how to navigate the job search process as part of your training at ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Training school.

One of the essential pieces of heavy equipment in most municipalities is a motor-grader. The grader operator operates a long blade that is dragged along the surface of a gravel road to keep it level. It also becomes a snow plow in the winter in some cases. This process is necessary for any area that has a need for roads to be smooth and clear.

Graders prepare the surface for asphalt, fine-tune the curves in the highways, level the ground for the pouring of concrete, and much more. They don’t do a lot of different things, like a backhoe, but they sure do what they are designed to do and they do it to perfection if the operator is skilled. Any time a smooth flat surface is needed, the blade of the grader can scrape that surface to a beautiful finish.

Many rural areas depend on the grader operator to keep the roads in shape. Construction companies, mining operations, and other industries rely on graders, too. Good grader operators are never without a possible job because so many places rely on this functional machine.

Need Skilled Grader Operator

The grader isn’t a machine that does the job alone. The way it is operated has a direct effect on the way the surface is scraped. It’s like the difference between an amateur trying to finish cement and the professional who gets that surface perfect — the same trowel might be used, but the difference is obvious.

The way to begin developing the skill a grader operator needs is by taking the time to be trained at ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Training School. There isn’t a better way to get the fundamental skills and in-depth knowledge of heavy equipment operation that ATS offers in the heavy equipment operation programs.

If you spend any time at all on heavy equipment operator forums, you’ll see someone mention that “you need a bubble in your butt” to be a successful operator of machines like excavators, backhoes, and anything that is used on uneven sites. What are they talking about?

The Ability To Know You Are Level

One of the basic tools in most toolboxes is a level. These essential tools are useful for anything that needs to be accurately level, and before there were apps, these levels used a bubble of air in a colored liquid inside a tube of glass with lines on it. You lined up the bubble with the lines by moving the thing you were leveling. Since the bubble doesn’t actually move because it’s a bubble of air and stays on top of the water, it acts as a focal point to orient things around.

Levels with bubbles are used to park RVs level so the refrigerator runs right, and to make sure concrete is level so the building isn’t crooked. You will see levels with bubbles used in a lot of different industries because it’s a simple, accurate way to ensure leveling perfection. And the bubble in the butt of the heavy equipment operator is the instinctive leveling tool that senses when you are operating on a slope.

Seat-of-the-Pants Training

One of the biggest reasons ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Training School insists on seat-of-the-pants experience during the training process is that you can’t exactly teach how to sense when the machine is level. It has to be experienced, learning how to sense what is going on around you and safely making mistakes so you can see when you are not level.

The best heavy equipment operations programs provide on-the-seat training with a variety of machinery along with the knowledge to become competent and professional. The “bubble in your butt” is a good thing because it means you have one of the most basic skills needed to do your job.