If you have your commercial drivers license (CDL) then you may want to consider adding a crane operators certification to your range skills. This will certainly improve your job prospects and can offer a diversity of employment options. Employers today are looking for potential employees that are are multi-skilled and can work in various areas.

You may wonder the association between crane operators and truck drivers. There is one. For starters, mobile crane operators require a truck driver’s license anyway. However, moving away from mobile cranes, if you can operate an overhead crane then you can potentially help to load or unload your own truck. Having skills to operate a fork lift places you in a similar situation.

Adding a crane operator’s certificate only takes three weeks – yet it adds a life time of opportunities to your resume. I won’t try and fool you. There are not employers jumping out of the woodwork looking for multi-skilled truck drivers. Having said that, it’s not until an employer sees your resume and understands that you can drive a truck, operate a crane (as a certified operator) and perhaps drive a fork lift that your true worth will show through.

Employers don’t always see the associations until it is there in black and white in front of them – suddenly a host of possibilities opens up. Your first step is to find a training provider that is accredited to deliver crane operator training and who is also accredited to undertake the follow up assessment and certification. ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools have both of these accreditations – in three weeks you can add a crane operator certification to your truck driving skills.

Career opportunities for new crane operator training graduates are looking good for at least the next five years with strong growth expected across all construction areas. Crane operators are particularly fortunate when you consider how diverse the opportunities are. Whilst construction absorbs a large proportion of new graduates, manufacturing also offers opportunities in the form of overhead crane operators whilst general lifting also offers opportunities in the form of mobile crane operations.

Employment can be sporadic through the winter months in some areas as construction grinds to a halt due to weather. Opportunities do open during these periods in southern states where weather may have a smaller impact on construction.

There are opportunities to be had in areas that many forget to include in their job seeking strategies. Ports rely a lot on the use of cranes. These are specialist cranes for which specialist training may be required. That training is generally built on the foundations of basic training, skills and experience that a crane operator will have developed operating standard cranes.

Rail companies, shipping companies and trucking companies often make use of crane operators. Cranes can be found mounted on rail wagons, barges and in some freight centers. These are all areas where you could find employment opportunities.

Given the diversity of work places that use crane operators and the strong growth in construction, career opportunities for new crane operator training graduates is strong. By undertaking a recognized crane operator training program and satisfying the certification criteria, you will be well placed to take advantage of the many opportunities that are currently available.

Do you know the difference between a mobile crane, a tower crane and an overhead crane? Do you know what the training requirements are for each? Careers are often built on dreams yet the reality is often quite different to what we dream about. There are many little boys that grow up wanting to be the operator of a crane that sits on top of a skyscraper – it’s possible, if you know what the requirements are.

Mobile Crane:

Mobile cranes are the cranes you commonly see driving around. As the name suggests, they are quite mobile and generally registered and insured to drive on public highways. The skills required to operate a mobile crane will obviously include driver training. Apart from driving the mobile crane, you will also need training that fulfills the requirements of the NCCCO. In some states you will need certification to prove you have the skills and knowledge required to operate a mobile crane.

Tower crane:

Tower cranes are the cranes you commonly see on building construction sites. They come in a wide range of shapes and sizes. Operating the more complex self erecting cranes will come with experience. Training to become a tower crane operator is similar to that of a mobile crane operator. Emphasis, however, is placed on features relevant to the tower crane. You are still required to sit an assessment for certification through the NCCCO.

Overhead crane:

Overhead cranes are cranes that typically run on tracks overhead – hence the name. Operation could be from a specialized cab to remote controls. The training required to be an overhead crane operator is different again to that of a mobile or tower crane operator. Assessment and certification is also a requirement in many states.

There is a common thread that runs through each of these cranes and it starts with your crane operator training. You can start life as a mobile crane operator and over time gain experience and further training that allows you to branch out into either tower crane operations or overhead crane operations. If your dream is to become a crane operator then start your career with one of the best mobile crane operator training organizations in the country.

Crane operator training is essential if you wish to work in the industry as a crane operator, even the smaller mobile cranes. You may feel that learning to operate a crane is fairly simple. It goes up, it goes down, it swings left, it swings right. Nothing complicated there, surely? Operating a crane can be a complex task and knowing the controls is only the start.

When working on most construction sites a crane operator rarely works alone. They are generally accompanied by an off-sider whose role it is to hook and unhook loads. They also have the role of being the operator’s eyes on the ground. They communicate using a basic set of hand signals – signals that all operators need to learn if they wish to work in the industry.

Safety is a big issue on any work site and it is the crane operator’s off-sider who guides the operator into how and where the load is moved – safely. Yes, it is important to learn the controls for without that knowledge the crane would be useless. Knowing the hand signals is an integral part of getting the job done. Add to this other components of crane operations such as ensuring the crane itself is balanced on firm ground before attempting any lift and you will come to some understanding at how much training is required.

Have I scared you off yet? I hope not because that is not my intention. Most people can complete the required training fairly quickly. Once completed, you can develop and build on your new skills in the workplace. Experienced crane operators are highly skilled and amongst the highest paid workers on a construction site. Is this the right career for you? If so, check out your crane operator training options today.

You can see mobile cranes traveling the highways all the time and some of them really do look like toys – just bigger than ones we had as children. A casual inspection would leave one with the feeling that anyone could operate a mobile crane.

If you think about, what is there to learn? The crane is mobile and sits on the back of a truck so a truck license would be necessary. Otherwise, there must be a lever to raise and lower the hook; another lever to extend or retract the boom; and pedals to turn the crane. Too easy surely? Lower the hook, attach the load; raise the load; swing around to where you want the load placed and lower it back to ground.

I am not trying to be flippant either. In a nutshell, that is the basics of operating a crane. Of course, if the load is a little heavy then you may just tip the crane on its side. If you don’t quite raise the load high enough you might take the top of the truck, or someone’s head.

The reality is that mobile cranes are not difficult to operate. The skills that do need to be developed are not those related to pushing levers or pedals. What is important is knowing how to set up the crane for safe use. How to handle loads safely and how to counter or work around environmental factors. Anyone can raise and lower a hook but I challenge anyone to lift a load and place it perfectly at its destination, first time, every time.

Mobile cranes may look like toys and may seem easy to operate. A highly skilled operator can work in confined areas perfectly judging distances irrespective of any environmental factors (wind for example), and place a load exactly where it is required.

Watch a crane operator lowering a large steel girder into place – the girder is a deadly weapon in itself – yet the operator can perfectly place the girder so that ground crews can fix it into place. That requires a lot of skill and that skill is based on the mobile crane operator training they received at the start of their career. Mobile cranes – they are not toys, they are precision tools that help build our nation.

The life of a mobile crane operator has to be one of the most varied and most interesting out of all heavy equipment operators. These cranes are mobile for a reason – they go from job to job, often performing a handful of lifts every day.

You may see these vehicles on the roads from time to time. They look like a truck with a crane tower hanging over the cabin. The operator drives the vehicle from one job to another, quickly setting up and doing the job required. They then move on to the next job and each job can be so totally different to the last.

These cranes also serve a special role in our lives, which most of us hope is never called upon. In an emergency they can be the difference between life and death. Motor vehicle accidents, truck rollovers and even train derailments. These often require the services of a mobile crane operator and his rig.

In these situations, they need the immense lifting power of a crane, but they are often limited to the amount of space available to work in and the need for speed. Mobile cranes can quickly lift heavy objects clear of danger or, in the case of truck rollovers, right the vehicle so it can be towed away and the roads cleared.

Mobile crane operators used under these circumstances need to be highly skilled and extremely patient. They also need to be able to listen to, and to follow, orders from those in charge of the situation. More importantly, they need to be able to respond quickly to instructions from those on the ground as the lifting is undertaken. There are times when stop really does mean stop – an extra inch and you may cause even bigger problems.

Of course, mobile crane operators learn the basics of their trade through training establishments such as ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools. Once they have finished their mobile crane training it may take many years before you have acquired the skills and experience that is required in an emergency. Then again, in emergency situation, you may be the only person in a position to respond. Are you ready for it?