Truck drivers transport almost three-fourths of the country’s freight, and 80 percent of communities depend on trucks to deliver their essentials, including medicine, food, and building supplies.

The trucking industry has faced a driver shortage for more than a decade. That shortage of drivers has a major impact on the economy. According to the American Trucking Association (ATA), the trucking industry needs to add 1.1 million truckers within the next 10 years.

Because there will always be a need for services and products, there will always be a need for truck drivers. While there are many positions for over-the-road drivers, which can be gone for several days or even weeks at a time, however, there are driving opportunities that ensure weekends at home, or for the driver to be home every night.

The ATA estimates that the U.S. is currently short about 100,000 truck drivers. The average salary for a trucker falls between $45,900 and $59,190, which is a comfortable income. Usually, trucking companies offer full benefits packages, which include health insurance and other optional coverage, such as life insurance, vision insurance, dental insurance, and so forth.

Diesel Truck Driver Training School was founded in 1959 near Madison, Wisconsin. Diesel Truck Driver Training School is associated with ATS since 1996, the values remained the same, and additional training programs were added.

If you would like to learn more about a truck driving career, call ATS. Financial aid is available for the school.

As of February 7, 2022, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations require all entry level commercial drivers to be trained by an FMCSA approved and registered entry-level driver Training Provider in order to be eligible to obtain a Commercial Drivers License (CDL).

Associated Training Services (ATS) is an FMCSA approved and registered entry level driver Training Provider. If you are interested in training your current personnel to qualify for a CDL, let ATS take care of it for you!

What Can ATS Do For You?

• Online theory/classroom training for your trainees. This can be done on their own time if needed.
• Behind The Wheel (BTW) range training at your location with your equipment.
• Behind The Wheel (BTW) road training at your location with your equipment.
• Registration of the trainees training records (theory and BTW) with the FMCSA Training Provider Registry.

Please contact Associated Training Services today for more information on Entry Level Driver Training.

E: admissions@operator-school.com

P: (800) 388-7364

W: www.operator-school.com

The construction industry has jobs for individuals who can operate different kinds of machines and heavy equipment. To find employment in this field, you will need to undergo specialized training and know the proper safety procedures so you can do the job to specification and safely.

Associated Training Services (ATS) offers students the opportunity to train in a variety of fields, so they can find employment in various industries and operating different kinds of equipment and machines. Here are just a few of the different kinds of equipment that ATS instructors can provide training for:

• Excavators
• Bulldozers
• Backhoes
• Wheel loaders
• Scrapers
• All-terrain forklifts
• Motor graders
• Articulated off-road dump trucks
• Hydraulic cranes
• Articulated boom cranes
• Lattice boom cranes
• Tower cranes
• Digger derricks
• Truck driver training

Heavy Equipment Training For Those Seeking Employment

ATS has highly experienced instructors who can provide two levels of heavy equipment operator training on the different kinds of heavy equipment included on the list. These are the most commonly used pieces of equipment used in industries that employ heavy equipment operators. The training programs include hands-on training and classroom experience. Students will learn how to read grades, grading stakes, laser levels, site plans, soils, and site layouts as well as learn all the proper operating techniques and safety protocols.

Students who are learning how to drive a truck commercially and obtain a CDL will be able to seek employment driving a truck, a crane, or a heavy equipment operator. When a student obtains a CDL, he or she can drive a truck and haul the heavy equipment to the job site or drive a mobile crane on the roads. Students learn the basic skills that are needed to drive Class-A vehicles.

Getting The Details

When you are ready to learn more about the different kinds of training programs for heavy equipment operation, call ATS and learn about the financial assistance and other opportunities available to prospective students. Call (800) 383-7364 today and speak with an admissions counselor.

There are times when a heavy equipment company must look at the painful reality of needing some specialized training before that company can be competitive. Whether that specialized training is needed for a few of your staff or an entire crew, ATS Specialized Training is designed to help you meet the challenge.

Associated Training Services can design the perfect training program that meets all the various requirements. Legalities, changing industry standards, unique operating environments, and customer requests all can be addressed by our instructors while maintaining the highest standards of quality and integrity.

These classes can be held at the Sun Prairie, Wisconsin location or at remote sites all over the country. Beginner-level or customized training can be provided in these areas and more:

• NCCCO Crane Operator Training, Testing, and Certification.
• NCCCO Rigger-1 & Signalperson Training, Testing, and Certification.
• OSHA Compliant Rigging & Signal Person Training, Testing, and Qualification.
• NCCER Heavy Equipment Training, Testing, and Qualification.
• Class-A CDL Commercial Driver Training, Testing, and Licensing.
• Credentials.

ATS is a nationally accredited, family-owned, private vocational school that has been providing professional training for over five decades. As the industries have changed, we have kept up with the changes. That means we can help you make the changes that keep your company competitive.

Enhance the safety consciousness of your workforce and increase productivity while fulfilling regulatory or insurance requirements by letting ATS provide specialized training. We cover a broad spectrum of subjects relating to the heavy equipment field and more.

Much of the heavy equipment out there is transported on the back of a flatbed truck — and if the operator of the heavy equipment is able to load the machinery, drive it where it needs to go, and unload it to do the job, then that operator, who can drive trucks, is worth a lot more to an employer.

ATS Offers Short-term Truck Driver Training

The Class-A CDL Truck Driving Program can be added to the heavy equipment operator training program a student is taking without disrupting the schedule by more than a month. That means in addition to getting trained to operate heavy equipment safely, you also can be trained to transport that equipment safely. There are strict guidelines to the transport of big machinery because it has to be securely strapped down to the trailer before taking it on the road. If it’s just sitting on the flatbed, it’s dangerous.

Because of that danger, there are regulations concerning securing cargo, including heavy equipment. Not just anybody can do it because not everyone knows how to stabilize and secure the load so it won’t shift when the truck goes around curves, for instance. And driving that truck is something not everyone can do safely. The Class-A CDL Truck Driving Program teaches all the procedures. It also allows students to ask questions and understand why those procedures are a good idea.

Insurance companies often require that the operators and drivers meet high standards of training or companies pay a penalty. That is one reason the boss likes ATS training. But having an employee who can both operate and transport the equipment has another benefit to the company: There doesn’t have to be an additional hire to drive the truck from one site to another. That’s a big reason for the higher wages you can get when you add the Class-A CDL Truck Driving Program to your heavy equipment classes.

Some people are a bit surprised when they see that Associated Training Services offers Class-A Commercial Drivers License training. Unless you are in the industry, one might think that truck drivers drive trucks and heavy equipment operators operate heavy equipment. So what is the reasons for an overlap?

1. The more things you can do on the job site, the more valuable you are on the job.
2. A lot of heavy equipment gets transported on flatbed trucks, so if you can transport your heavy equipment yourself, that’s a plus.
3. If all things are equal between two job applicants, the one with the CDL gets hired.

ATS started out training truck drivers 45 years ago, so we know what you need to learn in order to be ready for the job. For students who are learning to operate heavy equipment, adding the training for your Class-A Commercial Drivers License takes less than a month more to do. At the end of that training, you take the test and are equipped for employment with both operator and driver skills and paperwork.

That knowledge includes classroom and behind-the-wheel training. You’ll know the rules, regulations, safety and CDL equipment operations standards. You will be ready to take the CDL road test because you will have already been taught how to drive heavy equipment on roads, back it up, pre-trip inspections, coupling and uncoupling, and all the skills you need to pass the test and get your license.

Then you will be the one who is valuable on the job site, because you are prepared to operate heavy equipment and drive the big trucks that are part of the process.

The role of a heavy equipment operator has changed little over the years. They use their heavy equipment to move earth – in fact, in some circles, heavy equipment is referred to as either earth moving equipment or heavy earth moving equipment. Where there has been a change is in the requirements of some employers. It’s quite normal now to see employers asking for heavy equipment operators with CDL, a commercial drivers license. Employers are looking for operators who can truck the heavy equipment to a job site, unload, complete the task, then load up again and drive to the next job.

There are a number of reasons for the increase in demand for operators with a CDL. One is cost – why employ two people when one person can do both jobs. If employers hire both a truck driver and a heavy equipment operator, there is a risk that one will be sitting idle whilst waiting for the other to complete their role. One operator to do both jobs saves money – and in this day and age, that’s an important factor for any business. Another factor that has led to dual skill requirements is a lot simpler – there is a shortage of truck drivers and, in the past, employers have often struggled to find drivers to move heavy equipment.

Having complementary skills is also good for operators. It means they have several employment options. If it is quiet in the heavy equipment field, for example, during the winter months, then they can take on work as a truck driver as a fill-in until the demand for their skills returns – as it often does in the spring and summer.

For those considering entering the heavy equipment operating field, obtaining a CDL early can be a wise investment. Heavy equipment operator training only takes three weeks. If you are prepared to study at home, you can also gain a commercial drivers license with as little as three weeks of training. That’s a total of six weeks training to obtain dual skills that you will have for a lifetime and that you can use in a range of jobs. It certainly reduces the chances of long periods of unemployment.