The best way to get started in the heavy equipment industry is to attend a training school and get trained and certified. There are specific types of equipment that require specific types of certifications, such as the crane. And then there is specialized training like rigging/signalperson training. And you can get a commercial drivers license, which will put you at the forefront of the construction work site.

One thing is for sure: Heavy equipment operators who are trained and certified are much more valuable than those who aren’t.

If you’ve dreamed of operating a crane, a bulldozer, or a dump truck on the construction site, then now is your chance. Sign up for heavy equipment training and after the first of the year you’ll be set and ready to go. Four weeks of training is all you need to be ready to start your career.

So what types of heavy equipment can you train on? Here’s a short list:

• All types of cranes
• Dump trucks and other commercial trucks
• Bulldozers
• Backhoes
• Skid steer loaders
• Front end loaders
• Graders and scrapers
• Excavators
• Wheel loaders
• All-terrain forklifts
• And many more

Virtually any type of heavy equipment you’ll find on a construction site can be operated by new and veteran equipment operators. If there’s a need for it, you can be trained on it. Once fully trained and certified, you can start looking for a job.

When it comes to career certifications, having a national certification actually works in favor of truck drivers, crane operators, and other heavy equipment operators. State certifications would do the trick, but if you moved to a new state, then you’d have to get a new certification. It would be a terribly inefficient system.

As it is, when you get your national certification for any heavy equipment training program, then it won’t matter where you live. You’ll be able to find a job.

There are two national heavy equipment certifications you should be concerned with:

• National Center For Construction Education & Research (NCCER) – NCCER is affiliated with the University of Florida, so that should take care of the credibility issue. When you complete your ATS training program for heavy equipment operations, you’ll receive national certification as a heavy equipment operator. With that certification, you’ll be able to go anywhere in the U.S. and get a job.
• National Commission For The Certification Of Crane Operators (NCCCO) – The NCCCO is a specific certification designed to ensure safety among crane operators. This piece of heavy equipment is very popular and demands its own certification because of its uniqueness and specific safety challenges.

Additionally, if you wish to work as a rigger or signalperson, then you can be trained and certified to work in that capacity. It’s an additional level of training with additional levels of safety piled on by OSHA regulations.

Truck drivers also have their own brand of certification. It’s actually a license. Any commercial vehicle driver must have a CDL, or commercial drivers license. ATS can train you and prepare you to take your CDL test anywhere in the U.S.

Heavy equipment careers are some of the most rewarding blue-collar careers today. If you are trained on one or more types of heavy equipment, you’ll have job security – and you could get paid an above-average salary for your expertise. Do you need training?

Here are 5 reasons why you should look into heavy equipment training today.

1. Heavy equipment jobs aren’t going away. There will always be a need for heavy machine operators. Federal, state, and local governments are always hiring heavy equipment operators for road and bridge projects while private and public companies need operators for their building projects.
2. Fully trained, you can expect a high paying career. You may have to start out on the bottom rung, but after a couple of years you can command top pay for your heavy equipment skills.
3. Crane operators are top dogs. You can get a heavy equipment certification that will qualify you to work anywhere in the states, but if you have a crane operator’s certification, then you’ll get paid more and you have more employment opportunities.
4. CDL operators get paid more. Just think, if you were certified as a heavy equipment operator, a crane operator, and had your CDL certification, you’d be set for life. CDL operators are in high demand.
5. Any job certification you get is a feather in your cap. It proves that you are willing to do what it takes to succeed. If you get your heavy equipment certification, you’ll be qualified to work anywhere.

Find out more about getting trained as a heavy equipment operator today.

Many of the students that come to Associated Training Services for heavy equipment training, crane certification, and Class A CDL licensing, do so from government agencies.
That’s why ATS works! That’s why we’ve taken the time to develop relationships with the following agencies and their representatives:

• Government employment offices
• State Departments of Veterans Affairs
• Workforce Investment Act (WIA) personnel
• Trade Readjustment Act (TAA) centers
• Departments of workforce development
• Vocational rehabilitation offices
• Federal Veterans Administration personnel
• Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) offices
• Dislocated worker retraining programs
• Other employment agencies

We have provided assistance to the various agencies and employment offices, federal government programs, and state aid centers for many years. Their missions coincide with ours in a number of areas, including helping people find suitable training that leads to employment, assisting them with finding work when qualified, and helping them identify funding sources for which they are eligible.

Our goal is to assist employers of heavy equipment personnel find employees who are safe and diligent in performing the tasks required of them. To reach that goal, we employ the highest qualified instructors that deliver the best training programs in areas that are in high demand, such as

• Commercial truck driving
• Crane certification
• Rigging/signalperson training
• Bulldozer training
• Backhoe training
• Grader and loader training
• Scraper training
• Instruction on OSHA-mandated safety issues

You can get more information on any of these training programs or our agency relationship services by requesting a free brochure.

You know you’re ready for your next career move. You’ve heard that heavy equipment jobs are opening left and right. They are! But what you aren’t sure about is where to start. Let me offer you five ways to get trained for the heavy equipment career you deserve and want. Here is to the future operators.

Here are five career training programs for future heavy equipment operators:

1. Crane training – In crane training, you’ll learn all about the various types of cranes and how to operate them. Each type of crane has its own unique features and ATS trains you on all of them. Learn more about heavy equipment crane training today.
2. Heavy equipment training – Technically, cranes are heavy equipment too. But when we say “heavy equipment,” we’re talking about a broader scope. This class will teach you all about scrapers, bulldozers, graders, backhoes, loaders, and a lot of other types of heavy equipment.
3. Rigging training – Riggers have a very important job on the work site. We’ll teach you how rigging fits in and show you how to safely carry out the duties and responsibilities of this important job.
4. Signalperson training – Signalpersons are the controllers of the work site traffic circle. We’ll show you how to maneuver vehicles using ground controls and how to do it safely according to OSHA standards.
5. Truck driver training – Truck drivers are integral to the work site. Heavy equipment must be transported from the construction company motor pool to the work site. No one is qualified to do that better than the CDL truck driver.

Now is the time to get your career in heavy equipment off the ground. Enroll in the training you need and start today.

Robert Klabacka, in 1963, had a vision and followed it. He founded the Diesel Truck Driver Training School in 1963 near Madison, Wisconsin.

In 1996, Associated Training Services was born out of the same values that inspired the truck driving school. Those values are Quality, Integrity, and Pride.

This is not just some empty phrase or a string of words thrown together. Robert believed in them and so do we.

For years, the Klabacka family has been committed to providing quality truck driving and heavy equipment training for individuals wishing to seek a career in the backbone services of the country. There isn’t a thing all across America that hasn’t been touched by a truck driver or heavy equipment operator. Roads, bridges, stores, high rises, virtually every bit of infrastructure in the land at some point had to be transported or moved by an industry worker. Our job is to train them for their careers, and we do that well.

It takes integrity to maintain a business like ours. We believe in treating people right. If we help others succeed, then we’ll succeed. We believe it and we live it.

On these two pillars stands the element of pride. We don’t just have family pride. We also have professional pride. We believe in the power of people at a fundamental level. We believe that if you give people the tools to succeed, then they’ll outpace your expectations. Our students have proven it time and time again.

When you enroll in ATS, you aren’t just starting a career. You’re also joining a family. And that’s something to be proud of.

If you are wondering whether you should seek training from a heavy equipment training school, let me make it easier for you to decide. Here are seven reasons why I believe you should seek training from a heavy equipment training school today.

1. You can apply online – It’s never been easier to initiate the career training you need to move ahead professionally. You can apply online with no commitment and no out of pocket expenses right now. There is no obligation just for applying.
2. A new class every month – You don’t have to wait long to start your training. A new class starts every two to four weeks.
3. Get your national certification – You can be nationally certified to operate a crane or any heavy equipment. It doesn’t matter which state you get your training in, you’ll be able to work anywhere in the U.S.
4. Get help finding a job – Associated Training Services (ATS) will help you land your first job through our Career Services Department.
5. Financial assistance – You don’t have to delay or put off your training due to your financial circumstances. You can get financial aid to start and complete your heavy equipment training. Military personnel can use their veterans benefits. With loans and grants, you can get your training and start your career in just a few weeks.
6. Train on more equipment – ATS will train you on more equipment than any other training school. You’ll be trained to operate a backhoe, bulldozer, scraper, crane, grader, loader, forklift, rock truck, excavator, and much more.
7. OSHA-compliant – All ATS training is OSHA-compliant.

There is no reason not to start your heavy equipment training. Start your training today.

Associated Training Services and ATS Specialized recognized early on those employers who hire truck drivers and heavy equipment operators have specialized needs. Not all construction companies and heavy equipment employers are the same. Some have very specific needs that cannot be addressed by the open market.

That’s why we introduced our employer-specific training courses.

With our employer-specific training, we’ll come to your work site (or you can come to our facilities – but it’s often more efficient for us to come to you) and train your employees on the equipment you need them to know how to operate. This is a great training option when you have several employees who need the same type of training.

The alternative is, you pay for transportation for all of your employees to come to Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, pay for their lodging while they are here, and then pay for the training. It’s much less expensive to let us come to you.

You can get the training you need for all of your employees much cheaper.

We provide training for a group of employees on essentially any heavy equipment you may use on your work sites. We’ll provide training for qualification and for certification on crane operations, rigging, signalperson, truck driving, and all the standard heavy equipment. Our training classes are OSHA-compliant and we guarantee your satisfaction. Employees will receive certification from a nationally accredited training school.

Learn more about our employee-specific on-site training options today.

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.