When you look at machinery like bulldozers, excavators and mobile cranes, they look very complex and hard to understand. Whilst the principles behind each machine is fairly basic, the components that go together to make, say, a mobile crane, are very complex. However, just like a car, you don’t need to know how it works under the hood, you just need to know how to operate from inside the cab. And that is fairly straightforward. Did you know that mobile crane operator training only takes three weeks? That’s all you need – three weeks.

Becoming a certified mobile crane operator does take a little longer. After all, you do have to be assessed before being certified. So let’s add another week for the certification process. In total, four weeks to become a certified mobile crane operator ready to start work. It may sound like a whirlwind training regime, however, it’s not. If it was, you would struggle to get through the certification process.

Actually, ATS Crane Operator Training Schools have one of the best reputations for delivering well trained graduates to industry. Our training is thorough and includes in-the-cab training and practice and classroom-based learning in areas such as workplace safety. Our training has been accredited through the National Center for Construction Education Research (NCCER) and our training schools are licensed in their respective states. Crane operator certification is provided through the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO).

In short, our mobile crane operator training provides skills that are required by industry along with certification of those skills for those who pass the assessment process. Are you looking for a career change? Consider a career as a mobile crane operator. The pay is good, the work conditions great, and you can start in less than a month.

Do you like being challenged in the workplace? By this I mean a job that keeps you thinking, keeps you on your toes and certainly isn’t a sit back and watch type of job. Crane operators have one of the more challenging roles on a construction site and carry the weight of responsibility on their shoulders. One false move could destroy a building and cost many lives. Crane operator training prepares a student for the tough career that awaits them.

Have I scared you off? I hope not, I am simply stating a few facts. I might add that crane operators are amongst the best paid workers on a construction site and while the job may be challenging, it is can be very rewarding as well.

ATS Crane Operator School offers training in both mobile crane and lattice boom cranes. Training is certified with graduates receiving national recognition through the NCCCO. Features of our crane operator training include:

• Hands-On Training
• Financial Assistance
• Certified Instructors
• Nationwide Job Placement
• NCCCO Certification and Testing
• Stable Career
• Custom Training Programs
• Short Term Training
• Classes Every 3 Weeks
• Swing and Fixed Cabs
• Lattice Boom Cranes
• Nationwide Training Schools

Crane operators are well respected in the work place and all sectors of our community rely on them to complete a job with total safety. Your initial training is the platform that enables an operator to add new skills throughout their working life. Have an unstable platform and you will struggle to become a highly skilled operator. Get the basics right from day one, and your career is almost assured.

Associated Training Services has been delivering training since 1966 – that’s almost forty-five years of training. Not only is it over forty-five years of training, it is more than 50,000 students passing through our training facilities. Over the years we have delivered training in carpentry, truck driving, heavy equipment operations, crane operations, and GPS technology. We have ten training centers located in:

Wisconsin (1963),
Florida (2002),
New Hampshire (2004),
Ohio (2003),
Virginia (2005),
Colorado (2006),
South Carolina (2006),
Southern California (2007),
Northern California (2008), and
Texas (2008).

If you want to see Associated Training Services in action, I suggest you head on over to the ATS Training Channel on YouTube. We have eleven videos available that proudly display our training over the years. In fact, check out this video an you can see some of the machinery we currently use to train students. You should also make note of the range of ages and gender. Yes, women undertake training as well. Check out the ATS training video on YouTube.

Interested in a career in heavy equipment? I will assume you are since you are here reading this post. Visit our main site – there are a range of options available to you. You can:

Review training options,
Apply for training,
Sign up and take our free online training program,
Grab a free brochure and DVD,
Find more information on job placement, certification and accreditation,
Apply for financial assistance,
and much more

If you are serious about becoming a truck driver, crane operator or heavy equipment operator then check out the videos and visit our main site. There is plenty of work available for operators with good skills and the right attitude. ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools can provide you with the skills – do you have the right attitude?

Winter can be a demanding time for crane operators, particularly mobile crane operators, and the snow can really test their crane operator training to the limit. Snow, of course, creates many problems. It can create havoc on our roads, although for mobile crane operators it is the snow on the sides of roads that causes more problems.

This time of year seems to give way to strange accidents, no doubt often caused by black ice on our roads. Cars and trucks skid, overturn and wind up in strange places – places where often a tow-truck can’t retrieve them. This is when a mobile crane may be called in to help retrieve the vehicle. Even then it’s not plain sailing since the mobile crane needs to be able to find some firm footings before attempting to lift.

Road accidents are not the only problems caused by snow. Building can start to feel the effects of the weight of snow and often require assistance from cranes. Mobile cranes are called in to support the wall or roof until construction crews resolve the problem. Once again, snow under foot makes life challenging for crane operators and tests their crane operator training and experience.

Having to work under challenging conditions is another reason why national certification has become important. Operators holding a national certificate are able to demonstrate that their skills and knowledge meet a specific national standard. ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools conduct accredited crane operator training. We are also accredited to perform assessments and to award crane operator certifications.

If you have your commercial drivers license (CDL) then you may want to consider adding a crane operators certification to your range skills. This will certainly improve your job prospects and can offer a diversity of employment options. Employers today are looking for potential employees that are are multi-skilled and can work in various areas.

You may wonder the association between crane operators and truck drivers. There is one. For starters, mobile crane operators require a truck driver’s license anyway. However, moving away from mobile cranes, if you can operate an overhead crane then you can potentially help to load or unload your own truck. Having skills to operate a fork lift places you in a similar situation.

Adding a crane operator’s certificate only takes three weeks – yet it adds a life time of opportunities to your resume. I won’t try and fool you. There are not employers jumping out of the woodwork looking for multi-skilled truck drivers. Having said that, it’s not until an employer sees your resume and understands that you can drive a truck, operate a crane (as a certified operator) and perhaps drive a fork lift that your true worth will show through.

Employers don’t always see the associations until it is there in black and white in front of them – suddenly a host of possibilities opens up. Your first step is to find a training provider that is accredited to deliver crane operator training and who is also accredited to undertake the follow up assessment and certification. ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools have both of these accreditations – in three weeks you can add a crane operator certification to your truck driving skills.

There is a growing shortage of certified crane operators throughout the country with many employers finding it difficult to find workers who have undergone crane operator training and certification. In many states, crane operators can not be employed unless they have that certification. It can be frustrating for employers and for crane operators.

Crane operators of course can seek certification – that is not a difficult process. For those seeking a career change, the opportunities are there. Undertake crane operator training from a reputable training organization and your certification assessments should be included. This means you can undertake the training and have employers waiting to snap you up.

It is surprising to hear there is a shortage of certified operators when you consider the employment prospects. Crane operators are amongst the highest paid heavy equipment operators. They work in an environment that is interesting and often challenging. Certified crane operators are classified as professionally skilled with the certification being recognition of the skills and knowledge of the operator.

Certification covers areas that go beyond just operating a crane. Important areas such as general workplace safety, lifting safety and knowledge of the crane itself. The certification process is recognized throughout the country which means those that secure their certificates are able to find employment anywhere in the country.

ATS provide both crane operator training and certification. The latter is done through the National Commission For The Certification of Crane Operator (NCCCO), an organization established to set and monitor certification processes for crane operators. If you decide to undertake your crane operator training and certification through ATS you know you will be receiving training from one of the most respected training organizations in the country – that makes your qualification all the more important.

In the 21st century, you don’t have be a boy or drag your knuckles to want to play with dump trucks, bulldozers, and loaders. Girls can play too.

The ATS Heavy Equipment Training School has been known to certify female bulldozer and heavy equipment operators and it’s likely that we will continue to turn out the best equipment operators of either gender.

When it comes to training, you definitely want the best. And if you expect to excel in your career and have the best advancement opportunities then you want the best education. ATS schools are certified by by National Certification Programs that give heavy equipment operators a leg up everywhere. Our students are recognized as some of the best equipment operators in the world. Even our female operators do better in their careers because of the expert training they receive at ATS.

If you are serious about being a heavy equipment operator then try ATS.

There are literally hundreds of reasons why you should get certification, today we are not going to go into those so much as we are going to look at some of the steps that you will need to take to ensure that you can get certified. The focus will be on the technical aspects of getting certified more than the positives of getting certification.

Step 1. Financing – Your certification will need to be financed; many students finance themselves, however, if you are not in a position to do so, you will need to consider financial aid. The process for applying for financial aid is relatively straightforward. As long as you have a good credit rating or a guarantor, you should be accepted.

Step 2. Training – Training takes time, you will not be able to work the same hours if you are training full time for your certification. You will need to decide whether it is in your interests to work full time and study part time or study full time and work part time.

Step 3. Going to Class – Just paying for your certification training does not mean that you will necessarily pass. Attaining your certification can be a lot of hard work. The pay off is at the end when you can get a better job and live a more comfortable life.

If you have any questions about any of our certification programs, please contact us at Associated Training Services.

Do you need certification to be able to operate a piece of machinery? The answer to this question is no. If you go to a lot of farming areas, you will see people operating equipment without certification. Chances are that they have spent their lives around heavy equipment and know a great deal about its operation. Were they to train, they would learn a thing or two, but basically they would have a very good understanding of the workings of the heavy equipment that they have been using. If you are operating equipment on your own property, then you don’t really need certification, but it is always good to have. If, however, you want to operate heavy equipment off your property, then you absolutely must have certification.

You need certification if you want to use heavy equipment anywhere else. All the skills in the world will not help you get a heavy equipment job without certification. It doesn’t matter if you have been operating equipment for many years, without that piece of paper, you have less claim to the salary and benefits from your years of training than someone who graduated from a training center yesterday. Their certification makes them legally qualified to operate the equipment; not having it relegates you to unskilled labor. Now, if there were ever to be a shortage of skilled workers in your company, you might be in line for training, but there is no predicting if or when that would ever happen. So why not get that certification?

A lot of people put off getting their certification because of the cost and time that are involved. There is no way around it, certification costs money. Look at it from a business point of view. Here at Associated Training Services we need to hire teachers, we need to purchase and maintain equipment, we need land for our training centers and we need an administrative staff to help everything run smoothly. If you go to any training school around the country, it is the same story. Training for heavy equipment is going to cost. On the other hand, it does not take all that long for the training to pay for itself. Once you bite the bullet and actually do the training, you can then start moving on and earning a lot more money. The sooner you train for your certification the sooner you can earn a higher wage.

If you are interested in training with us to obtain your certification here at Associated Training Services, please feel free to contact us. We look forward to helping you take the first steps towards your certification and entering more rewarding employment.

Life can be tough without certification. If you have been living without certification, it is a fact that you will know about all too well. Sure, some people manage to get by and some even do very well, but for the bulk of the population that has no training, life is very difficult. If you don’t have certification, then chances are that you will have experienced what it is like to live from paycheck to paycheck. What can certification give you?

• Peace of mind! This might seem like a somewhat abstract concept, but it isn’t. All jobs are stressful to a certain extent, certification won’t change that, but it will make life a lot easier and that goes a long way to making people happy. Imagine if you could wake up every morning and feel confident that you will have a job to go to next week. Not everyone has that luxury, but people with certification often do.
• Stability – Certification will allow you to stay in one job long enough to work your way up through the ranks. You can enjoy a career as opposed to an endless string of jobs.
• A sense of achievement – It takes guts to get out there and do the training that you need for your certification. After you go through the process, you will have a wonderful sense that you have accomplished something that not everyone can do.

If you are interested in obtaining some heavy equipment certification, please feel free to contact us at Associated Training Services