As winter approaches, many feel that work for heavy equipment operators would start to dry up. While winter may stall some construction projects, however, there’s still plenty of alternative work available. This weekend’s job listings are varied, however, they do once again highlight the need for multi-skilled workers, especially the combination of a commercial drivers license and heavy equipment operator experience. If any of these jobs interest you, visit our job site for more details.

• Excavation Operator – Missoula, MT
  Looking for an experienced heavy equipment operator. This is a full-time position Monday to Friday starting 8am and finishing around 5pm. Applicants must have a drivers license, however, preference will be given to someone with a commercial drivers license. The position also involves manual laboring as well as equipment operation.
• Transload Operator – East Chicago, IN
  Seeking a dedicated, hard working, career-minded individual for our dry and liquid-bulk transload facility in East Chicago, IN. The ideal candidate must be detail oriented, able to work outdoors year round in all conditions.
• Light Equipment Operator – Ludlow, MA
  Looking for light equipment operator. This is a permanent, full-time position, 40 hours per week. It involves the operation of various trucks, heavy equipment and manual operation duties.
• Skidsteer operators – Huntsville, AL
• Truck drivers – Huntsville, AL
  Employer is hiring drivers with experience in tri-axle dumps. Also hiring Ready mix trucks drivers.

Don’t let anyone tell you there’s no work for heavy equipment operators or truck drivers. There is, and there always will be. If you’re interested in a career driving trucks, or operating heavy equipment, then your first step is to seek out training. Associated Training Services has a long and proud history of training truck drivers and heavy equipment operators, and you could be one of our next graduates to start a great career.

Training to become a truck driver is fairly straightforward. A couple of weeks in the classroom and behind the wheel and you’re ready to pass your commercial driver license tests. In most cases, students come to training with a preset notion of the type of truck they want to drive. Some students choose dump trucks while others may have a desire to haul long distance freight. Our suggestion – broaden your horizons, holding a commercial drivers license really does open the door to a very diverse truck driving career.

In theory, you can drive any truck that your license and its endorsements permit. You may prefer dump trucks, and we’ll never dissuade you from seeking a career as a dump truck driver. We will suggest you jump at any opportunities to drive trucks other than dump trucks. The more experience you have on a broad range of trucks, the more opportunities you will have in the future. Why? None of us have crystal balls.

Right now, there is work available across a range of industries for truck drivers. However, we don’t know what next year, or five years from now, has in store for us. Construction may take a huge dip and this will reduce the number of truck drivers required. If you have skills in a wide range of trucks, you can easily switch your focus to alternative trucks until the construction picks up. We do know that truck driving opportunities run in cycles with some years and/or some industries having large peaks and troughs.

With a diverse career in front of you, you may find that alternative work is more interesting and more challenging than your original truck driving choice. The bottom line? When undertaking training to gain a commercial drivers license, don’t be too restrictive in your choice of driving options. The wider your choice, and experience, the more successful your career will be, and you’ll rarely have quiet times.

What sets some heavy equipment training schools apart from others? In a nutshell, some care about the future of their graduates while others only care about the future of their bank balances. To be blunt, training schools have to make a profit in order to survive – but that’s business. Along the way, you can be profit focused, or customer focused, and history tells us that the most successful businesses are those that focus on the customer – and that’s the student when it comes to training.

Associated Training Schools have been training truck drivers, heavy equipment operators, and crane operators for almost fifty years. One of the reasons we have been successful is the focus we place on the students’ future. We aim to make training as accessible as possible. In that regard, we offer assistance with financing your training and assistance with accommodation while undertaking your training. Our training is designed to be as complete as possible including both classroom-based tuition, and hands-on in-the-seat training – you get to do the operating, not watching someone else do it.

While our focus is on training you to a standard that makes you employable, we are also working with you to help you find that first job. It is not unusual for students to have their first job already arranged, before they have even graduated – they leave our training school and walk straight into their first job. Our career services section has thousands of employers they can refer graduates to, and online job site where employers post job vacancies (you can also check this blog on Saturday’s for some of the latest opportunities).

By focusing your successful long term future, we are also achieving our long term aims. Those aims include staying in business and employing some of the best training staff available – but then, that is also helping you achieve your dreams. If you are looking for heavy equipment training, crane operator training, or truck driver training, then make sure your training company is interested in your long term future, and not just the size of your wallet.

Who said there were no jobs for heavy equipment operators. We have enough jobs to satisfy everyone; at least, it seems that way. If you’re looking for work as a heavy equipment operator, crane operator, or truck driver, then check out what we have listed today. If there’s nothing there to really suit you, then check out other vacancies listed on our job site.

Finish Grader Operator – Polk County – Bartow, FL
Employer is looking for operators that have the physical, developmental, and mental ability to operate construction and maintenance equipment used primarily for finish grading operations.

Heavy Equipment Operator II – Walker, LA
This is a year-round position that involves the safe operation of various heavy equipment vehicles that perform the collection, transportation, and disposal of commercial and residential waste. Occasionally, items up to 75 lb. must be lifted while performing the daily routine in all weather conditions. Some shift, night, weekend, holiday work or overtime may be required. Daily vehicle inspection is required as is the completion of daily logs and reports.

Heavy Equipment Operator – Rhinebeck, NY
Experienced. Must be able to run various types of equipment. Competitive Salary, Medical Benefits, 401K. Daylight Shift.

Heavy Equipment Operator/Yard Associate – Benton Harbor, MI
This position is responsible for sorting different grades of material on delivery in the yard or in a specific department. They will have direct contact with all the customers. They will weigh, sort, upgrade and package materials. Operate computer, machinery and small equipment Actively participates and displays behaviors of the company values.

Heavy Equipment Operator – Laney, M.T.

Heavy Equipment Operator – Milpitas, CA
The purpose of the job is to operate heavy equipment safely, productively and efficiently. This job could require pushing, compacting, grading, loading or hauling waste or dirt and could require working alone or teaming with other Heavy equipment.

Operator – South Charleston, WV – ### Entry Level ###
Perfect for new graduates. Entry Level Operator (Operator-B) position requires the ability to transfer chemicals, perform physical activities, operate various types of equipment, utilize effective written and oral communication and complete all required training.

Motor Vehicle Operator – Gatlinburg, TN

Equipment Operator/Truck Driver – Leesburg, VA
Seeking qualified applicants for an Equipment Operator/Truck Driver position. Hiring Range: $27,656-$38,511

Heavy Equipment Operator – Dallas, TX
Work with Dozers, Backhoe, Trackhoes, and conducting excavation.

Equipment Operator – Portsmouth, VA

Heavy Equipment Operator – Sulphur, KY
Operate heavy equipment at a transfer station, recyclery and/or landfill for the purpose of transferring, spreading, covering, loading and/or compacting waste or soil in a productive and safe manner.

Backhoe operators with CDL-A – Bryan, TX

Crane Operator – Baltimore, MD
Immediate need for multiple experienced NCCCO crane operators for permanent employment. Crane operator should have experience operating in a construction environment, preferably in an industrial or civil setting. These positions are located on the East Coast, so must be open to relocation.

Spray Rig operators with CDL-A and hazmat – Campbell, NE

There are employment options for heavy equipment operators, crane operators and truck drivers right across the nation. If you’re interested in a career in any of these field, then contact us for more information about training to become skilled in these areas.

There’s more to driving a truck than most people realize. Simple maneuvers like going around a corner takes planning, yet skilled truck drivers do it without an apparent thought. The same can be said for reversing a tractor trailer – skilled drivers do it with ease while novices invariably take several attempts before they come close to achieving the desired results. When undertaking truck driver training, the most important component is your skilled training instructor. From the student’s perspective, getting the most out of that instructor is what will count at the end of your training.

It can be hard, but often the first thing a student needs is to forget all preconceived ideas about truck driving, and to put aside their experiences as car drivers. Cars and trucks are very different when it comes driving, and one of the biggest mistakes new truck drivers make is to attempt maneuvers that they perform everyday in their car – lane hopping is a good example; you just cannot do it in a truck. If, as a student, you can clear your mind, you’ll soon start to absorb and put into practice the training provided by your instructor.

Instructors have two advantages over students – truck driving experience is obviously one of those advantages. The second advantage is their skill in passing on that knowledge and experience. A good quality truck driver training school will employ instructors that are skilled in both areas. There are tens of thousands of truck drivers on the road today, but very few of them have the skills to pass on their knowledge effectively. Those that do have that ability should be treated like gold mines. The more you dig, the more knowledge you’ll acquire, and the more knowledge, the better your skills.

When undertaking truck driver training from a recognized truck driver training school, take every advantage to gain as much knowledge and experience from your instructors. When your behind the wheel, listen to them, follow their instructions, and feel free to ask questions – if you don’t know, and it’s related to truck driving, then you need to know, and the only way you’ll find out is by asking. Get the most out of your training and you’ll be a better driver for it.

It is becoming more apparent every week that employers are focusing more on multi-skilled heavy equipment operators. We have often promoted the benefits of adding new skills to your employment options, and the jobs listing from this past weekend certainly give credence to our stance. What is worth noting is the range of skills that employers are looking for.

There are many operators who tend to focus on just one piece of heavy equipment. Bulldozers have long been a favored option followed by excavators and loaders. Employers are now looking for individuals who can operate all three, and more. They are also showing a preference for heavy equipment operators who can also drive a tractor-trailer – obviously, that requires a commercial drivers license. One addition that stood from the jobs listing over the weekend was for an operator who could do all of the above, and also operate a crane. That requires training and certification as a crane operator.

Fortunately, you don’t need to dash out and undertake training across the board. If you are new to the industry, then selecting one area of training and completing that successfully is your first goal. Your second goal is to obtain employment and to gain as much experience on the job as possible. If you select heavy equipment as your preferred area, then be sure to seek employment where you will have exposure to a range of equipment, not just the one type.

For those already employed within the industry, undertaking further training will help boost your employment opportunities. If you are a heavy equipment operator, adding crane operator training and certification could cover two areas – operating a mobile crane, and obtaining a commercial drivers license (often required to drive a crane on the open roads). If you are a truck driver, consider adding a crane operators qualification, or heavy equipment training, to your skills list. As you can see from these heavy equipment jobs, employers are looking for multi skilled operators – and they will continue to do so for a long time.

How many careers can you think of that only require three weeks of training? Add to this a couple of extra days to go through the certification process and your career is ready to be launched. That’s all it takes to become a certified crane operator, and yes, certification is now a requirement in the workplace.

While cranes do look to be complex, their operations are fairly straightforward. A lot of your training time is spent developing knowledge in the area of safety, and assessing both the work location and the load. The actual crane operation is fairly easy to learn. When it comes to certification, this is centered around safety, and an operator’s ability to safely set up and operate a crane.

It’s strange how, in a fast-paced society, we look at short training programs and wonder whether or not they produce the goods. When it comes to crane operator training, it does produce the goods and we have tens of thousands of former students who have successfully completed their training. Those graduates have gone on to operate a wide variety of cranes in a number of different industries, and their success is based on their desire to learn, and our ability to deliver the right training.

ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools has a long history of training individuals for employment in the heavy equipment industry, truck driving, and crane operations. We continue to work with the major stakeholders in these industries to ensure the training we deliver produces operators that are immediately employable following their graduation. For crane operators, that training is over three weeks. Nationally recognized certification assessments can be completed following your graduation and a certificate issued upon your successful completion of those assessments.

Crane operators are always in demand. If you are interested in a career as a crane operator, be sure your crane operator training is comprehensive, delivers the right skills for industry, and prepares you well for those important assessments. If everything comes together well, you’ll be employable as a crane operator in less than four weeks – forget those six or twelve month training programs for a new career.

As a nation, we depend on the transport system to survive. Many people hate those trucks that travel along our highways, yet we would soon run into difficulties if they were suddenly banned. Trucks transport food, produce, and those every day requirements in life. Even fuel used in heating and to operate our vehicles require trucks for transport. Love them or hate them – we need them, and the drivers as well. The question is, do you have what it takes to become a truck driver?

Anyone can gain a commercial drivers license (CDL). All it takes is a truck driver training course and the ability to pass the tests associated with that license. However, having a CDL doesn’t make you a truck driver – it just gives you the legal right to drive trucks. While driving skills are obviously important, a truck driver needs attributes that often exceed those required in other occupations. Do you possess these attributes?

• Patience – Truck drivers need loads of patience. You know how busy roads can become, and you know there are a lot of crazy drivers around. Truck drivers need patience to navigate through traffic jams and away from crazy car drivers. Truck drivers also need patience when dealing with officials, both law enforcement and Department of Transport. Getting loud and abusive to either is never going to be a good career move.
• Reliability – Businesses that employ truck drivers need to rely on the reliability of those drivers. Reliability is required in several areas including turning up for work on time, getting your load delivered on time, and maintaining important areas of the job such as log books, paperwork, and the truck itself.
• Compliant – Most truck drivers hate documents such as a log book, yet it is an important part of truck driver’s working day. Compliance comes through in several areas ranging from following road rules, even though they may seem outdated, to following requirements set down by the Department of Transport. You must also be willing to comply with the various rules that trucking companies place on their employees, even if they too seem to be outdated. That doesn’t mean you cannot seek to have any of these rules (road, DOT, and employer) changed – you just need to comply with them until they are changed.

If you are reliable, have plenty of patience, and you’re willing to follow the rules, then you’d most likely make a great truck driver. All you need now is the training and the commercial drivers license. If you’re ready, then so are we. Call us to find out when our next truck driver training program starts.

One practice that has been around for a long time is that of relay truck driving. It’s a practice that can be traced back to the stage coach days where stage coach drivers would handle a team for 8-10 hours. Stage coach companies had way points dotted across the country and when a stage coach arrived, the team and the drivers where swapped over allowing the stage coach to continue on its way. The same process is used today, however, we don’t change the horses, just the drivers.

Relay truck driving jobs are ideal for those who don’t mind spending every second night away from home. The job requires a truck driver to take over a load and to drive for 8-10 hours before handing over to another driver. After a break from driving, the truck driver would then take over on the next truck heading towards their home town.

Some relay truck drivers take a permanent night shift while others do a permanent day shift. These jobs typically pay around the $20 per hour rate and you may be required to work six days per week. In most cases, you would work a regular route driving similar trucks with similar loads each day. This is a popular approach by some trucking companies as it keeps their rigs on the road for the maximum number of hours possible each day. In the trucking business, the vehicle is only earning money when its on the go – the moment it stops moving, it’s no longer earning an income.

Relay truck driving is just one of many different types of truck driving jobs. This type of truck driving generally involves large vehicles so a commercial drivers license is essential. Most trucking companies now prefer drivers that have been through a professional truck driver training program along the way to gaining their commercial drivers license. If relay truck driving, or any form of truck driving, appeals to you, contact us at ATS Heavy Equipment Operator School – we can provide the truck driver training and assistance in finding that first truck driving job.

Have you stepped into the cab of a long distance truck lately? Known as a tractor in the business, modern cabs can be real eye openers. You can often get to see inside some of these rigs at truck driver training school open days, or through industry field days, or through regional trade shows. If you get the chance, I suggest you take a closer look.

When you do have a closer look, check out what’s behind the drivers seat. You’ll find a comfortable bunk bed, perhaps a microwave oven and even a television set. I have even seen rigs with a toilet and shower cubicle. These trucks are designed to look after the comfort of a driver when they are forced to take time away from the wheel. For drivers, these rigs are their home away from home – in fact, for some drivers, they are their home.

Long distance truck driving is a career like no other. You spend hours each day on the highway, sometimes traveling from one side of the country to the other – perhaps even across international borders. Truck drivers soon learn the best places to stop and eat, stop and sleep, and even to stop and socialize – and they are a tight-knit community, always ready to help each other.

Does that sound like a career that would interest you? The trucking industry is always in need of new drivers and one of the greatest needs is in long distance driving. Your first step to a successful career as a long distance truck driver is to undertake training that is well respected by the trucking community – and that’s where ATS can help you. Contact us for details on your truck driver training options.