On construction sites and other industrial work locations where large heavy machines are used, someone has to set that equipment up so that operators can use it. The operators generally don’t set up their own equipment. There are specialists who do that for them prior to the work assignment. These specialists are called riggers.

Riggers also come along behind the operators and dismantle the equipment when the work is done.

This is a very demanding job and is fraught with many safety hazards. We are talking about a lot of moving parts, and many of those parts are themselves quite heavy. Riggers could find themselves using heavy equipment, such as cranes and loaders, to move heavy machinery components into place so that the rigging team can assemble them properly. On large industrial sites, the set up and assembly portion of the project could take days to complete.

Riggers, like any heavy equipment operator, must be trained to proficiently carry out the tasks of their jobs. This training is subject to OSHA standards.

If you are interested in becoming a heavy equipment rigger, consider taking the ATS Rigging and Signalperson training course.

ATS will qualify you to become a heavy equipment rigger and certify you by OSHA standards to carry out the heavy tasks associated with setting up and tearing down a work site. Not only do riggers assemble and disassemble heavy equipment on site, but they are also often called upon to move equipment from one location to another. It’s an important job with highly specialized skills.

There are all sorts of heavy equipment careers. What kind of career you want if you’re willing to work hard for it. The first step is training, and you want to be trained by the best, I’m sure.

Have you done a career outlook study yet? If not, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) publishes an annual outlook on careers in the U.S. A quick look at the construction industry shows that the median income for construction equipment operators in 2010 was $39,460.

That’s the median, which means half the salaries were above that.

Tractor-trailer truck drivers made slightly less than that. But if you look at the number of jobs in 2010, there were over 1 million. Growth expectation is 21%, higher than average.

The BLS website is a wealth of information on all sorts of careers. You should check it out and chart the kind of career in heavy equipment you want to have. What the information doesn’t show is a specialization within these fields. If you have your crane certification, for instance, you can command more income. If you have crane certification and a commercial drivers license, then you can earn more.

Talk to a few heavy equipment operators in your area and find out how much they earn. Different parts of the country have different costs of living and therefore different salary expectations.

One thing is clear. You can have the career you want with the proper planning.

The next ATS heavy equipment training class starts on Monday, September 30, 2013. The next truck driver training class is scheduled for Monday, September 23, 2013. Crane training begins on September 30, 2013. Sign up today!

We generally start new training classes every three weeks. All upcoming training classes will be at our facility in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.

There’s still plenty of time to enroll, set up your financial aid, and make your living arrangements in Sun Prairie. If you are a military veteran, you could apply for one of several financial assistance options available to you. Even non-veterans can receive financial aid to get the career training they need.

ATS is considered an eligible training provider in 22 states. This is not a status to sneeze at. We’ve built a solid reputation as a career training provider that is well-recognized and appreciated all over the U.S.

In addition to financial aid, you could receive housing assistance and stay at our recommended hotel while taking your classes in Sun Prairie. The Water Tower Residence Inn is just minutes away from our training facility and within walking distance of all the living amenities you need – restaurants, grocery stores, even entertainment. The inn even has a game room and a color TV with cable in every room.

Most of our students graduate from our training programs and go on to rewarding careers in a wide variety of industries. It all starts with a simple commitment to yourself.

If you’re going to be a success in your heavy equipment career, then you should seek formal training as soon as possible. The more equipment you are trained on, the more employable you’ll be in love with the money you’ll make. Associated Training Services (ATS) offers prospective heavy equipment operators several types of equipment training. Here are 5 types of heavy equipment training you can enroll in right now, today.

1. Mobile Crane Operator Training – This includes lattice boom cranes, hydraulic cranes, fixed and swing cab trains, and articulated cranes. Get your National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO) certification today and start making more money.
2. Commercial Truck Drivers Training – You can get your CDL license through ATS. Train to take the test or train to improve your skills.
3. Rigger / Signalperson Training – Get 12 full hours of OSHA-compliant training in one of the most important specialties of the heavy equipment industry.
4. Bulldozers – Learn to operate a bulldozer the right way. Construction sites always need a good bulldozer operator. You can start your career in heavy equipment easily if you can operate one of these machines.
5. Loaders – There are all kinds of loaders – front end loaders, skid steer loaders, and much more. You can learn to operate a wide variety of loaders, making you a more versatile heavy equipment operator. You can start right away.

The best heavy equipment operators on the workforce are those who have some type of formal training. Join the ranks. Start today.

One of the best benefits to getting your career training through a company like Associated Training Services (ATS) is you’ll gain access to thousands of employers who are hiring right now through the career services department. This isn’t just some formality. ATS really wants you to succeed in finding your first job.

Why enroll in career training if you don’t have a reasonable chance of receiving employment when you graduate? ATS sees itself as an advocate for truckers and heavy equipment operators.

In other words, we don’t just train you and throw you to the wolves. We train you and work with you until you are employed. That means we want you to get your first job because it’s a feather in our cap as much as it is income in your pocket. When you’re successful, we’re successful.

So what do you get through the ATS career services department? Here’s how we support you:

• Personal career counseling – We work with you from your first week of training by assigning you a career services counselor. You’ll get a list of employers in your geographical area who are hiring and some tips on landing your first job.
• Soft skills training – These are job search and interviewing skills. We don’t just train you to handle heavy equipment. We also train you in the competitive art of searching for work and landing your job – and that includes what to say in your interview, how to present yourself confidently, and even how to prepare a resume.
• Job leads – Yes, we’ll tell who is hiring and where.
• Career services website – Our career services website lists all the best heavy equipment and truck driving jobs nationwide. If you can’t find a job on our website, then you’re not employable. Our success rate, however, testifies to how well we train our students to find work after they graduate.

Your heavy equipment career starts the day you start training. We don’t give up on you and we won’t let you give up on yourself.

Associated Training Services is one of the oldest and largest trucking schools in the U.S. If you want to become a trucker – local or long haul – then you’ll need to be trained and certified. ATS can help you with that.

Here are six reasons you should choose ATS as your truck driving school:

1. Age – ATS is the oldest truck driving school in the nation. We have perfected the training model and put out some of the most successful truckers in the industry.
2. Size – We’re also the largest trucking school. We have more students, more instructors, and more room to maneuver your equipment on our training grounds. We’ve been doing it for so long that we continue to lead novice truckers into successful careers.
3. Quality – We’re not just stuck on quantity. How many students graduate from our training is not as important as the quality of training that we deliver. We focus on delivering the best truck driver training in the business.
4. Integrity – We go through a lot of trouble to stay true to our word.
5. Pride – We take pride in the ATS name, and we instill that pride in our students. When you graduate from ATS – whether you receive your CDL license, learn to operate a crane, or take our general heavy equipment training course – you can be proud that you were trained by the best.
6. Family-owned – ATS has been family owned since its inception. Started in 1959 by Robert Klabacka, ATS is now run and operated by his children. The current CEO and president is John Klabacka. We wouldn’t let each other down, and we’re not going to let you down.

ATS Heavy Equipment Training School is the oldest and largest training school in the nation, and we put out the best heavy equipment operators. Start your career with us.

CDL truck driving is one of the nation’s most enduring professions. If you think about it, virtually everything in your possession right now was on a truck at one time. Everything that is purchased at a point of sale must be manufactured and transported from the manufacturer to the retail outlet. That means that truckers are the backbone of society.

But don’t get a big head about it.

In order to be a valued member of the truck driving profession, you have to get trained and certified. The Class A CDL (commercial driver’s license) truck driver’s license is the most important credential you’ll ever earn.

The ATS CDL truck driver’s training is a good mix of classroom training and behind-the-wheel training.

Drivers who graduate from ATS training schools move on to very rewarding careers. Some become tankers. Others haul freight. We have former students in the mining industry, construction, transporting heavy equipment, delivering concrete and asphalt, and even driving dump trucks. No matter what profession you end up in, you can thank your ATS instructor for giving you the legs to get running. Your commercial driver’s license will become the most important thing in your wallet, and it will increase your pay too.

Start your career off with CDL truck driver training from the longest running school in the business.

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.

One of the things you’ll learn in a good heavy equipment school are the different types of loaders you’ll find on the job. And you’ll learn how to operate them too.

You’ll learn the difference between a bucket loader and a payloader, for instance. Important questions like “Why do some loaders have wheels and others have tracks” will be answered. Plus, you’ll learn why some loaders have scoops and some have shovels. And you’ll learn how to use these tools in a safe, effective manner on the work site.

Front end loaders, skid loaders, swing loaders … the list goes on. Why do we have them and what do they do?

When you enroll in the ATS Heavy Equipment School, you’ll learn the answers to all of these questions and more. More importantly, when you graduate, you’ll be well qualified to operate any type of loader on the job site, and you’ll be employable in your state, ready for hire. ATS will even help you get your first job.

One of the things that students say they like about our training is that they get plenty of practical field training. We don’t just sit you in a classroom and lecture you.

Don’t get me wrong. You’ll get your classroom lectures too, but that’s not where you learn to operate heavy machinery. You learn by doing, in the ATS Heavy Equipment School you’ll get plenty of opportunities to ‘do’. That includes all types of loaders.

A Dump truck is a big machine, they carry heavy loads, and they can be dangerous if operated unsafely. Safe dump truck drivers are a huge asset to any construction site. They increase revenues and decrease accidents, which means they also decrease expenses. That’s why it is important to learn how to operate them safely.

If you want to learn how to be a safe dump truck driver, then we recommend the ATS heavy equipment course.

But let’s do a quick overview of what it means to be a safe dump truck driver.

A safe dump truck driver is one who

• Is aware of the foot traffic in the area of operation and is diligent to avoid it
• Inspects the dump truck before using it
• Inspects the ground where the dump truck will be operated to ensure that it is stable enough to handle the weight of the truck while fully loaded
• Creates a marker for dump truck operations
• While working at night, ensure there is plenty of lighting and enough crew members to help you maneuver around the construction site safely

Dump truck safety – in fact, construction site safety in general – is very important, for drivers and operators as well as employers. So, make sure you understand how to operate a dump truck safely. Your career will reward you.