Undertaking a training program to commence a new career is always a costly process. Some training programs are more costly that others, especially if you take into account the real costs of training. You could decide you wanted to become a doctor, but we all know that takes years of dedicated study and your income potential during that time is minimal – yet you still have to live. Even shorter training programs lasting only six to twelve months come with hidden costs. Your limited ability to earn during this time while still maintaining your normal life can be difficult. Is heavy equipment training the same?

The reality is a definite no! Unlike many other training programs, learning to operate heavy equipment can be achieved in as little as three weeks. On completion, you are ready for entry level employment in the industry as a heavy equipment operator – effectively, you are getting a return on your training investment very quickly. If you compare the wages of heavy equipment operators to many other careers, you will find that not only are you getting a quick return on your investment, your investment in heavy equipment training will be repaid quite quickly.

Since heavy equipment training is such a short program, you are not committing to a long period of learning with little in the way of income. You are also not struggling to find casual evening work to maintain you for six or twelve months (or more depending on the training). Heavy equipment training is short, sharp, and focused on developing skills in all the areas necessary to become a successful operator.

If you undertake your training through ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools, we can help you arrange finance for your training, deliver high quality and well respected training, and provide a wide range of assistance to help you find that first job. If you assess the real costs of heavy equipment training, you’ll find they are far lower than many other training programs – and the reward is a great career once you have completed that training.

Workplace safety is a big issue across the nation and there has been a lot of attention given to the construction industry in general. Building sites are dangerous places for those who are not fully aware of what is going on around them – it’s certainly not a place that encourages daydreaming. Heavy equipment safety has come in for a lot of criticism over the years due to the number of avoidable accidents that have taken place. Today, an employer will not hire an operator unless they have had some form of heavy equipment safety training – at least sufficient to meet the national minimum standards.

No matter how much training an individual has, their ability to work safely all comes down to one key ingredient – common sense – and you would be surprised how many times an operator has ignored this and created a real problem. Safety rules are put in place for a reason. Not to make life harder for operators, but to make life safer for themselves and for those working around them. And common sense is at the center of most safety rules – as it is in most areas of our lives.

ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools have fully endorsed the safety rules and working safely is an issue we deal with from day one in training. When students are operating heavy equipment, safety is at the forefront with students encouraged to consider these issues before making any maneuvers. In order to complete their training, students must not only demonstrate an ability to operate heavy equipment, they must also demonstrate their knowledge of the safety issues involved with operating their equipment.

A safer workplace means there are fewer injuries (and loss of life), less downtime (accidents often need to be investigated for causes), and less damage to property and equipment. It estimated that construction companies could save over a billion dollars each year, just by cutting out avoidable accidents. Do you have common sense? If you do, you have the core ingredient for a safer workplace – and we can help you learn the skills to capitalize on that common sense to become an effective and safe heavy equipment operator.

Transitioning from a heavy equipment training school to a full time job as a heavy equipment operator can seem daunting. It’s true of every new career unless you have had some experience in that particular industry. Jobs are advertised in a wide variety of locations so knowing where to look is often not the problem – the real problem is that most people new to an industry don’t know how to apply for any vacancies.

The construction industry can be particularly hard. Some employers rarely advertise vacancies, they rely on word-of-mouth to bring in applicants. Others will talk to people who simply walk in off the street. The latter is rare these days, but it does still happen. As a graduate from a heavy equipment training school, what is ideal is to have a friend who has the inside knowledge of industry – someone who knows the employers and who knows what these employers are looking from job applicants. Here’s the good news, you do have a friend and they do have all the knowledge you need to help you find that first job.

Associated Training Schools has a highly regarded career services department and their function is to do everything possible to help you find employment. From the beginning of your training, someone from Career Services will interview you in an effort to find out exactly what you want from your training and a new career. They will then put together a resource package that will help you find suitable employers based on where you want to work, and the type of employment you are looking for.

Career Services will also deliver ‘soft skills’ training – these are designed to help you with application letters, resumes, and interview skills – all designed to help you prove your worth to a potential employer. Our career services department can never promise to find you a perfect job – that perfect job may not even exist – however, they can help you to locate vacancies and with your job application – after that, it will all depend on how well you influence the employer. Looking for heavy equipment training that offers that little extra? Don’t underestimate the value of our Career Services department.

I am, perhaps, exaggerating a little when I compare modern heavy equipment technology with an Xbox – but only a little. The technology that is found in modern heavy equipment is certainly of Xbox quality with computer microchips controlling many of the operations. It has also been said that those who regularly play computer games are already half way to becoming heavy equipment operators since they have excellent hand-eye coordination.

Motor vehicle technology has moved to heavy equipment with similar computer technology that controls a motor vehicle’s performance being used to ensure heavy equipment engine runs smoothly. Heavy equipment machinery like motor graders are starting to use computer technology to accurate set the positions of their blades – and using GPS and laser technology to continually fine tune those settings to deliver precise gradings. Computer technology is also being introduced to other machinery such as excavators to enable them to dig to precise measurements.

There are some training organizations that are incorporating computer controlled heavy equipment simulators in their training. While these simulators are helpful, they still don’t beat being outside in a real machine, working on real dirt. While technology is starting to playing a much bigger role in heavy equipment operations, the basics still remain the same. Bulldozers push dirt around, excavators dig holes, loaders still load dump trucks – the technology that is being incorporated is designed to get a job done using the smallest amount of fuel possible while in most cases producing very precise results. More importantly, new technology is making it easier for operators to complete tasks quickly while not affecting the quality of their work – and time is often a construction company’s biggest enemy.

For new operators coming into the work force, the difficulty is knowing what sort of training to undertake. Simulators, for example, usually train operators on heavy equipment that has all of the latest technology. In reality, the workplace is using a wide range of equipment, some of it is still 20-30 years old. The most effective training involves getting into the cab of a range of equipment, some new and some old. This gives students a feel for both the old and new technologies and delivers a better all around training experience. When considering a career as a heavy equipment operator, look for a training organization that is going to deliver training across a broad range of equipment.

There are several factors that need to come together that will ensure you have a long and happy heavy equipment operator career. The first of these factors is you. How keen are you to really work in this industry? If you are keen, then the rest can be fairly easy to work on. The second most important factor is your training.

Training to become a heavy equipment operator needn’t be long. Your training should provide you with a good grounding in heavy equipment operations along with workplace safety obligations. Your training should combine in-class training and actual hands-on operator training. Heavy equipment operations is one of those careers where you improve with experience – provided you have the good grounding to begin with. ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools has developed a good reputation for providing industry with graduates who have that good grounding – there are thousands of successful heavy equipment operators now working successfully following our training.

The third leg of a successful career as a heavy equipment operator is just as important as the first two. That third leg is your first job. After graduating from your training school, you need to find employment that you are going to enjoy, employment that will allow you to continue learning, and an employer that understands you’re a rookie, someone who needs to find their feet in their new career.

We can never promise to find you employment. No one can – at least, not the ‘perfect’ job. We do have a specialized department, our career services department, whose only aim is to help you find that first job. We work with you to sift through all the potential employers in your region to find those that are best suited to you. More importantly, we have worked with many of these employers for a long time. They understand the difficulties that new graduates face, and often work with them to develop their new skills.

To become a successful heavy equipment operator, you need commitment on your part, training that provides a good grounding (and we provide that), and a good job to get you started – and together, we can work on that. You too can join the thousands of successful graduates who have entered the workforce through our training – you just need that commitment.

Career moves often come with the expense of training and this is often a stumbling block for many people. It shouldn’t be since there are so many different financing options open to people these days. Heavy equipment training prepares individuals for careers operating heavy equipment, most often in the construction industry. This industry offers good wages, often with the opportunity to work extra hours and so boosts a pay packet.

Heavy equipment training has one major benefit compared to many other career choices – your training is a relatively short three-week program. This means you could be working in your new career within a month of commencing training. That’s a quick turn around when compared to many other career choices, some of which take six to twelve months of training (or much longer) with much higher costs for training (not to mention living expenses for that period).

If you are considering a career change, and heavy equipment operations is one option on your list, consider these avenues for financing your heavy equipment training:

• Career Loans – There are many banks that offer their customers career loans. With a quick turn around from training to working, you will be surprised at how receptive these banks are to granting a career loan.
• USA Finance – You can make a down payment on your training and have USA Finance pay the rest. The size of your down payment will depend on how much USA Finance are prepared to lend.
• State and Federal Grants – There are a lot of state and federal grants available. Your eligibility will depend on your circumstances or that of your families. The families of service personnel often have access to a range of training benefits.
• ATS Options – You can apply online through our finance application process. We have a number of financing options that may be accessible to potential students.

All finance applications do need to meet standard lending criteria to include credit checks and credit scores. If your credit is not at its best, then consider applying with a co-signer whose credit is in good order. Who knows, you could develop a new well-paid career while helping to rebuild your own credit history – a win-win in the long run.

There are many options for financing training – if you are really struggling, then talk to one of our admissions personnel. They may have a few ideas you haven’t tried yet. A career as a heavy equipment operator is certainly worth the effort.

Our society has become far more sophisticated over the last fifty years and this is reflected in the way employers recruit personnel for their workplaces. Governments are also legislating to make some employment criteria compulsory for employers. If you add to this the pressure that comes from other interests such as insurance bodies, employers have had to refine how and who they recruit. This has been particularly evident in the construction industry, especially when it comes to areas such as heavy equipment operations.

Today, when an employer requires operators for their heavy equipment, they have a list of requirements that job seeker must meet before their application is even considered. Some of these requirements include:

• Proof that the applicant can operate heavy equipment
• Proof that the applicant has completed safety training
• Proof that the applicant has completed heavy equipment training

There is one word that stand out in that list – proof. For experienced heavy equipment operators, they can point to previous employers and an employment history to prove their abilities. For new entrants into the industry, they require documentation from a training organization.

If the job applicant has received their training through a well recognized professional training organization, the employer is quite likely to at least consider that person’s application. If the job applicant comes to them without any proof of their abilities, the employer will most likely reject the application without a second look.

While there are a lot of vacancies for heavy equipment operators, that doesn’t mean employers are becoming desperate to fill them. The last thing any employer needs in today’s economy is a large lawsuit after an incident that claims, amongst other things, that they were negligent when employing poorly trained heavy equipment operators. If safety training is missing, then there could be legal ramifications under state or federal law as well.

Professional heavy equipment training will ensure that your job application is at least looked at. The better credentialed that training body is, the more likely you are to land that job. If you’re considering undertaking heavy equipment training, be sure your training provider is well respected and that their training is comprehensive – your future career could depend on it.

Everyone wants to work in a safe environment. When it comes to construction, there are a lot of safety issues to consider. What we do know is that too many people have been injured, some seriously, or even killed through accidents that could have been prevented. Heavy equipment safety is particularly important because when they cause accidents they are often spectacular and often lead to a lot of people being injured.

Governments at both state and federal level have, over the years, introduced safety legislation with varying degrees of success. The most successful has been the certification of crane operators and the requirement for all employers to provide some form of safety training for their employees.

This has led to employers in general relying on training providers to include comprehensive safety training in their overall training programs. Heavy equipment training is one area that now has a significant safety aspect. While specific safety issues are handled as a heavy equipment safety module in training programs, good training providers include safety aspects at every opportunity, especially when it comes to the in-the-cab training component.

If you are considering a career as a heavy equipment operator, you should ensure that the training provider you select includes a well documented and nationally recognized safety component. Employers are now expecting new operators to have this training and, without it, new entrants will find it difficult to find employment. Employers are not interested in hiring new operators, and then having to deliver that heavy equipment safety. Do yourself a big favor, undertake that training as part of your heavy equipment training program – you’ll be immediately employable.

Heavy equipment operators generally work as part of a larger team. However, bulldozer operators are often the one member of that larger team that have the freedom to work alone. While they need to work to set plans, they generally don’t require other heavy equipment to complete their task – that equipment generally takes over once a bulldozer has moved on.

For some freelance operators, working alone is what makes the job appealing. They can be hired to prepare a dam on a farm one day, be out bulldozing a road following winter’s snow damage another day, then out on a construction site preparing the ground for a new building. There is variety. There is often a real test of an operator’s knowledge of soils and vegetation, and that freedom that many crave.

Bulldozer operators learn many of their skills on the job. It takes experience to really gain an understanding of what soils will do under the power of a bulldozer’s blade, and they do react very differently. One of the components of any heavy equipment training program is a module that deals with soils and how to identify them. Sandy soils, for example, will fall back at the edges while real heavy clay soils can be peeled away – and that’s just a small observation of soils.

If the freedom of life as a bulldozer operator sounds appealing, then here’s an invitation to check out what heavy equipment training can offer you. You can be working as a bulldozer operator within a few weeks of starting your training and within months you’ll operating that bulldozer like an old hand.

The only way to build a career as a heavy equipment operator is by gaining employment that will continue to build on your initial training. There is work available for heavy equipment operators. In fact, we are now entering one of the busiest times for construction and that builds demand for operators. We also have an aging workforce with baby boomers now entering retirement age.

There are two essential requirements to developing heavy equipment careers – training and employment. ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools are masters at both. We have over forty years experience in training individuals for work as truck drivers, crane operators, and heavy equipment operators. What really works to kick start a career is our Career Services program.

When a student commences their training at ATS, a member of the Career Services department will work with that student to determine the field of work they are interested in, and the regional area they would prefer to work in. They are then provided with a career package that includes potential employers that match their requirements.

For students, the Career Services Coordinator is available each day to help with tasks such as applications, refining resumes, or providing advice on how to approach employers. Students are also provided with soft skills training in areas such as application procedures, interviewing techniques, and networking methods.

Current and former students also have access to a database of potential employers and a dedicated employment site at http://www.the-job-site.com/. Job seekers can leave their resume on this site while employers can list vacancies and peruse the resumes of suitable job seekers. ATS Heavy Equipment Training Services don’t just train students, we also offer as much assistance as possible to complete that all important second set – getting their first job in the industry.