There are different types of loaders. A loader is a handy piece of equipment to have on a construction site.

You’ll often come into contact with these types of loaders on the work site:

• Bucket Loader
• Front end loader
• Front loader
• Payloader
• Skip Loader
• Wheel Loader
• Track Loader
• Swingloader

All loaders are tractors – some have wheels and some have tracks – that have a bucket on one end so the driver can scoop up loose material and move it around. Loaders come in various sizes. Most of them are wheeled, but sometimes a tracked loader comes in handy.

On construction sites where gravel or loose sand needs to be moved, a loader is a useful piece of equipment. But you need a qualified operator to make good use of it.

You can always find employment as a loader if you have a few construction companies in your area. In northern states, many municipalities use loaders to move snow off of streets or parking lots. Business owners or landlords at large apartments or business complexes may use them too.

The most common type of loader is the front-end loader, although skid steer loaders are fairly popular as well. Compared to industrial loaders, however, they’re both quite small.

If you can learn to operate a large loader, such as a front loader like the John Deere 944K or the LeTourneau L-2350, then you should be able to operate smaller loaders just fine. Backhoe loaders not only have a bucket on one end but also a backhoe on the opposite, giving this small tractor an extra measure of mojo for the operator.

Heavy equipment operators are generally involved with the construction industry. Not all jobs, and there are occasional openings for jobs that can be a lot of fun. These jobs are often seasonal, lasting two or three months. Other seasonal jobs can last six months and if not ‘fun’, they are at least interesting. Some of these jobs include:

Snow field grooming – small bulldozer-like machinery is used to groom snow fields. This is generally done very early in the morning, and whilst it’s cold work, it’s certainly interesting and does require a lot of skills. Bulldozer operators are perfect for these positions, however, being specialized work, there are few vacancies and high demand. Related work that can give you some of the skills required includes snow plowing streets.

Beach grooming – like snow field grooming, beach grooming uses bulldozers of varying sizes to groom beaches. There is also often work available restoring beaches following heavy storms. Some heavy equipment operators move from the snow fields to the beaches each year.

Land restoration – there is a lot of work going on around the nation to restore land to its natural state. Bulldozers and backhoes are often found working in these areas along with smaller equipment like skid steer loaders.

Landscape gardening – skid steer loaders and backhoes are often found working as a part of a landscape gardening team. Team work is important as is following carefully designed plans.

Demolition work – there’s a little bit of the devil in all of us and that can often find an outlet in demolition work. The downside, you can’t just go in and destroy everything. These days, buildings are demolished carefully, sometimes because the materials removed are being recylced (or have the potential for recycling), or because there is a possibility of asbestos and other troublesome materials. Bulldozers, backhoes, loaders and excavators are often found working as a part of a demolition team.

Whilst there is not an abundance of work available in these areas, opportunities do arise. If you have gained good skills in heavy equipment operations, then you never know, you could find yourself working in a ‘fun’ or interesting job. It all starts with heavy equipment operator training and your first job.

Every job has its good points and its bad points and for loader operators it’s no different. One of the downsides to living on a continent like the North America is the unpredictable nature of the weather. Whether it’s tornadoes, hurricanes or wild fires, they all leave devastation in their wake and someone has to clean up after them.

In many cases, the devastation is complete. Homes, schools and buildings in general are either totally destroyed or damaged to the point that repair is impossible. In these situations, bulldozers often come in and literally clear the area – the scrape it clean. The problem with bulldozers is that they are limited in what they can do. They can clear all areas, but effectively all they are doing is pushing everything into piles. It is the loader operators that have to come in and load everything into dump trucks ready to carted away.

It can be a tough job at times. You are clearing away people’s lives. There are treasures that cannot be reclaimed – photos, mementos, furniture, along with the buildings themselves – what were once people’s homes. Like I said, it’s a tough job. But someone has to do it and work is work. If you don’t do it, someone else will.

We can train you to be an effective loader operator; we can provide you with all the skills required for the position. What we can’t do is teach you how to mentally handle this type of work. Some people just switch off and treat it like every other job; for others, their heart goes into every load, particularly if they are from that community. There is one upside to this – no matter how much destruction there is, people will always stand up and start again. Before long, the site you are about to clear will once again have a home standing there.

People will pick up their lives and move on. So while the job may have a downside, in reality, if you’re not there to do it, people can’t move on and start again. Bulldozer and loader operators are our society’s first steps to rebuilding lives. So when looking at a site that has suffered some calamity, look on the bright side – your there to help rebuild lives!

I am noticing a steady increase in the number of vacancies for motor grader operators these days. In fact, there is an overall increase in advertised vacancies for heavy equipment operators. I have seen several ads that read – operators required for roller, front end loader, mini excavator, street sweeper tractor (mower), motor grader, asphalt lay down machine, oil distributor and chip seal machine. Smack in the middle, hidden away was the motor grader.

The increase in demand for all heavy equipment operators is due in no part to the federal stimulus spending packages. Motor grader operators are in demand because a lot of that money is going into new roads – heavy users of motor graders.

In the past, many businesses could get away with using one or two operators across a range of equipment. They would use a bulldozer to clear the way, the motor grader to prepare the surface and a front end loader to remove the debris. At the moment, there is so much work on their books they need operators for each of these machines. They are going from two or three operators to five or six – a doubling of operator numbers.

For those who have wanted a career in heavy equipment, particularly as motor grader operators, now is the time to act. Employment numbers are forecast to rise over the the next 5-6 years and this increase in demand will start to put pressure on operator training schools. At present, you can enroll and start your training almost immediately. The same will not be true in the months to come. By this time next year, the demand may be such you will have to wait several months for the next training vacancy.

Act now and undertake your motor grader operator training. The demand is there for new operators – will you be one of them?