What is the biggest fear that many have of summer? It’s fire – and with June only weeks old, we have already had wildfires breaking out in a lot of different locations. Heavy equipment operators are often involved in the firefighting process, either in the weeks leading up to summer or during and after fires. It can be a dangerous experience as well.

Heavy equipment operators, particularly graders and bulldozers, are frequently used to create fire breaks and fire access trails. Fire breaks are used to try and put the brakes on a fire while also giving firefighters easy access to remote areas. Fire trails are there for one purpose only, to get those firefighters in and out quickly.

During a fire, bulldozers have been used to bury smoldering vegetation. Of course, after a fire, heavy equipment is called in to clean up, especially when homes and other buildings have been affected. This is a demanding and often dangerous job for heavy equipment operators – yet, when volunteers are called, there are often more hands raised than required – a testimony to dedication of heavy equipment operators.

Working in those environments takes a lot of skill and dedication – attributes that can never be achieved by sitting at home dreaming of a career in heavy equipment. To achieve that dream, you need to complete a heavy equipment training program that provides you with the skills required to succeed in the workplace. Once in the workplace, you can work on developing those skills and gaining the experience required to work in more demanding areas like fire protection and control.

If you have the dedication but lack the skills, then ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools are the people to talk to. They can help you develop the skills required to succeed as a heavy equipment operator.

Are you outgoing, determined to succeed, and enjoy working outdoors? If that is you, then you could be a perfect candidate for a career as a bulldozer operator. Bulldozers are the real grunt of the heavy equipment range since they rely on power and strength to complete their tasks.

In some work areas, bulldozers move tons of earth every day – and I’m talking about one bulldozer working on its own. Bulldozers are the preparers – they remove vegetation and carve out the ground ready for other equipment like graders and excavators to come in to do their work. Even when confronted by stubborn roots or large boulders, bulldozers are determined machines and they generally win the day.

For those looking for an interesting and challenging career, then operating a bulldozer could be just what you’re looking for. Your first step to achieving that career is to undertake training in the field of heavy equipment operations. What may surprise many is that training to operate a bulldozer doesn’t take months – you can be ready for entry level employment after just three weeks of training.

Associated Training Services has been in the business of training for over half a century. Over that time, ATS has developed a reputation for delivering quality operators to various industries, all ready to start work and all ready to be productive from day one. If you are considering a career change and operating a bulldozer appeals, then contact us for more information on how we can help you bulldoze your way to a great career – it’s a well paid career too.

Some people like to grumble about the classroom side of heavy equipment training. I can understand that students want to spend as much time as possible behind the controls gaining experience. However, there are some issues that require classroom time, and heavy equipment safety is one of those issues.

If you have any doubts about the importance of heavy equipment safety, there are two avenues worth looking at. The first are the requirements set down by federal and state legislators. Safety in the workplace has become a real political issue and the end result is fairly tough requirements for employers. That leads us to the second avenue that you can check – the job descriptions for heavy equipment operators.

Here are some examples of what one employer (City of Duluth MN) has including in one of their job descriptions:

I have been picky in that list since the job requirements run to two pages. However, you can see the importance of safety particularly in the last point. This requires employees to not only work in a safe manner, but to also have knowledge of the safety laws and regulations as they apply to their work.

If you are considering undertaking heavy equipment training, be sure to ask about the safety component before signing on the dotted line. State and federal governments expect safe work places. Employers know that unsafe work practices will result in big fines. Therefore, they generally only recruit employees who can demonstrate heavy equipment safety knowledge so the only path worth taking is training that includes a thorough look at heavy equipment safety.

Gender equity in employment has long been a challenge for women. I recently noticed an article on the topic of gender equity in truck driving, and some of the content could be equally applied to heavy equipment and crane operator careers.

Two statements really stood out. The first referred to the fact that a truck doesn’t know whether it’s a man or woman driving it – neither does heavy equipment machinery or cranes. The second statement was even more important, and to the point.

“recruiting ads looking for professional drivers you will often see the starting pay right in the ad. There’s no asterisk that says, “This pay rate is for men only.” Not only is that illegal, it would be foolish for a carrier to differentiate pay when the level of service is not dependent on the gender of the person behind the wheel. ”source

Again, this is very true of both heavy equipment and cranes. In fact, in today’s workforce, there are a lot of women working in all three areas. It’s not unusual to see a woman behind the controls of a bulldozer – in fact, from a distance, I’d challenge most people to tell me if was a male or female behind the controls.

Gender equality does exist in the field of heavy equipment. If you were to ask why there weren’t more female operators, the answer would be easy – they are not coming through and undertaking the heavy equipment training. It is no longer a man’s domain. As a career, the door is open to all who can pass the minimum requirements – and that really relates to training, including safety training, health, minimum age restraints set by the state, and the ability to communicate effectively in English. Meet those criteria, and you can train to operate heavy equipment, drive trucks, and operate a crane.

There is more to finding a job than just looking in a newspaper. If you are undertaking any career training, then the search for employment can be that little bit harder since you have no prior experience in the industry. More importantly, you have no prior experience at looking for work in that industry. A personal career counselor can often make a real difference in helping you gain that first start – if you have one available, that is.

Career counselors are our cornerstone at Associated Training Schools. They provide that vital link between the school, the student, and employers. More importantly, because they have experience working with industry, they know exactly how a graduate should approach employers. Having access to a personal career counselor can help you develop an approach – either by mail, telephone, or in person – that employers find acceptable.

Our career services department has links to thousands of potential employers across the nation. As a student or graduate, you have access to this information through our employer database. You also have access to our jobs website where employers can leave job vacancies, and where graduates can leave copies of their resume for potential employers to read.

The one area that no one can place a value on is that of experience. Our career services personnel have a wealth of experience when it comes to helping graduates from our heavy equipment training, crane operator training, and truck driver training programs find employment. Our reputation as a quality training provider in these areas has been built on the success of our graduates in finding and building great careers in their chosen work area.

If you’re considering a career in heavy equipment, crane operations, or as a truck driver, you can rest assured in the knowledge that our career services personnel will work with you to find that first job. If they aren’t helping you, it’s probably because you did your training through someone else.

There are times when standard training is not specific enough to cover certain tasks in a workplace. While heavy equipment operators can normally acquire the skills required to succeed through a broad-based heavy equipment training program, there are some industries that have very specialized roles for their heavy equipment. Normally, the only way to acquire these specialized skills is through a specialized or custom-designed training program.

Customized training starts with a customized training program. Most training organizations use training programs that have been designed off site so their training staff have little, if any, experience in designing a customized training program. To design a program that is specific to a particular workplace, a training program designer will need to inspect the workplace, define the skills required to perform the work, and to then design a training program that delivers those skills.

While that may sound easy, in practice it isn’t. Designing a custom training program also needs to take into account factors such as:

• Time – How long will the training take?
• Prerequisites – What skills should a trainee already possess?
• Equipment – The equipment required to learn these skills.
• Location – The best place to learn – at the workplace or at the trainer’s campus?
• Cost – When developing a custom training program, the end cost must cover the training school’s cost whilst remaining affordable for the employer.

That is a tightly woven set of requirements that must be considered while designing the training itself. Associated Training Services has a long history in delivering specialized training including training for:

• NCCCO Crane Operator 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

If you require specialized training for your work crew, contact ATS for an expert assessment of your training options.

Changing careers, especially as we grow older, can be a stressful time. Retraining costs money and in many instances comes with the double blow of not being able to earn while you learn. This can be agonizing for some when they find out after the training that they are not really suited to their new career. There are many now working in careers, not because they like the work, but because they feel obligated to continue having invested so much time and money into retraining. We have a real solution to that problem.

How does an afternoon spent in a heavy equipment training school sound? I’ll sweeten the deal – how about spending some time watching heavy equipment in action, climbing aboard and getting a feel for the beasts, and working through a module of a heavy equipment training program? Still not won you over? What if I said it was free – totally free with no obligation to sign up for anything?

One of the best ways of testing your suitability for any career change is to get some time knee deep in that career. That’s what is on offer – a chance for you to talk to trainers and students, a chance to look over a heavy equipment training facility, and a chance to really test yourself around that equipment. At the end of the day you will know in your own mind whether or not that is a career that you could succeed at and enjoy working in.

What is more important is that you will walk away knowing whether or not the investment of your time and money is going to deliver the rewards you are seeking in both employment and life in general. Fortunately, a heavy equipment training program is a short three week commitment – that’s not a huge drain on time or loss of income.

Don’t commit to a career where there are doubts in your mind. Come and see us to see if you are really suited to a career as a heavy equipment operator – it’s free, and since there aren’t too many free opportunities in life, you need to grab them while you can.

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.

Visit a demolition site and you can almost guarantee you’ll find either a backhoe or an excavator hard at work. The two heavy equipment machines are the real jacks of all trades when it comes construction, or in this case, destruction. Backhoes have an obvious benefit – they can dig up material using their ‘hoe’ and load debris into trucks using their loaders. However, both of these vehicles have hidden talents.

If you continue to watch either a backhoe or an excavator, you may catch sight of the operator switching tools. The digging bucket can be removed and replaced by any one of a dozen or more attachments. These attachments range from augers to jackhammers, concrete breakers to pincer-like grabbers.

Operators need to develop experience at both attaching these tools to their equipment and putting them into effective use. In most cases, heavy equipment training will teach an individual to operate this equipment, and how to attach different tools. Learning to use them comes as part and parcel of the on-the-job training that heavy equipment operators go through for the rest of their working lives – yes, every day is a learning experience for every operator.

Heavy equipment training is the foundation for this ongoing on-the-job training. If your initial training is broad and covers a range of heavy equipment, your ability to learn more is enhanced. If your initial training is narrow, then your ability to build on those skills will be greatly reduced.

ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools offer students training in a wide variety of heavy equipment. This provides a broad-based training program that allows students to develop a wide range of skills. Once these students enter the workplace, they are able to quickly build on those skills to become well-respected operators in their field. Backhoes and excavators are multi-functional equipment so the broader your training, the more competent you will quickly become.

When it comes to heavy equipment operations, our law makers have generally left the industry alone. At least until the last decade when legislators started to take a little interest in the field. The only reason they have taken any interest is because of the number of accidents resulting in serious injury and death.

Legislators have slowly increased the rules surrounding heavy equipment operators, crane operators and construction sites in general. It is now mandatory for employers to ensure that their employees have some for of safety training before commencing work in any of those areas. Crane operators now require certification; riggers require proof of their training; and general workers must be able to point to some form of safety training.

Safety training can be delivered by suitably qualified trainers on-site, by a training organization either on-site or at their campus, or as part of a broader training program. It is now common for training programs such as a heavy equipment training program to include safety in its syllabus.

What legislators are hoping to achieve is a reduction in the number of accidents that occur in workplaces. The emphasis now is on employers employing personnel that are adequately trained in safety – in fact it’s the employers who face prosecution if they fail to satisfy this requirement.

When seeking training in areas such as heavy equipment operations, crane operations or any other aspect of construction, it is important now to ensure the training you receive does have safety components that meet these minimum standards. Failing to have this training will now result in one outcome – no one will employ you! At least, not until you undertake that training.

At ATS, we include comprehensive safety training in all our heavy equipment training programs. Our safety training component generally exceeds the minimum requirements as set out by legislation and this helps to make our graduates well sought after by industry.