Published January 2004

Training targets
heavy-equipment operators

By John Wolcott
SCBJ Editor

When it comes to work-force development, training the next generation of skilled, productive workers in Snohomish County isn’t just about computer operators and laboratory biologists. There’s also a growing demand for skilled construction equipment operators, a need that will grow rapidly as the economy recovers over the next few years.

Office buildings, biotech labs, retail centers, homes and apartments don’t get built without people who can whip a skid steer loader around a work site, grade a site for a foundation or lift steel with a crane.

Fortunately, training opportunities for heavy-equipment operators are expanding in the Puget Sound area, driven in part by a growing awareness that this field offers good compensation. A skilled journeyman, for instance, can earn $861 to $1,107 a week, according to U.S. Census 2000 figures compiled by the federal Bureau of Labor and Statistics.

For years, the Western Washington Operating Engineers’ Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee has provided skilled instruction for union employees of local contractors. Now, the Construction Industry Training Council (CITC) has added heavy-equipment operators’ classes for non-union employees and those who need basic skills to enter that industry.

“We know from work-force studies that the construction industry is short of skilled workers in many skilled areas, including heavy-equipment operators,” said Sandra Olson, executive director of CITC. “Today’s construction careers go well beyond pounding nails or bending conduit, but few realize the tremendous opportunities in the industry. Career opportunities in construction just are not on the radar screen of most parents, educators and career counselors.”

At the Bothell-based Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee, Training Director Duane Lee is preparing for an increased demand this year for apprentice and journeyman programs for heavy-equipment operators. Lee named Sea-Tac Airport’s $1.1 billion third-runway project, Sound Transit projects and new 5-cent-gas-tax highway projects as reasons for his optimism.

“Apprentices start out at $18.82 an hour — 65 percent of a journeyman’s pay — plus medical and pension benefits,” Lee said. “By the time they become a journeyman, they are certified to operate a minimum of three types of equipment, including front-end loaders, dozers and backhoes. … Later, they can move on to cranes, mechanic training and other programs.”

The Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee journeyman training programs began in 1972, with the apprenticeship program being added in 1974, with Lee in the first class. All of the apprenticeship programs are approved by the Washington State Apprenticeship and Training Council, set up by the Department of Labor and Industries.

Last spring, the CITC announced it had earned approval from the state training council for its 3.5-year Heavy Equipment Operator (HEO) program.

It “unlocks a key opportunity to advance heavy-equipment apprenticeship training for open-shop contractors throughout the state,” said Olson, adding that “CITC has just approved a second HEO class for next spring.”

The training is open to anyone, but most students are already employed by companies who participate in the CITC apprenticeship program.

CITC’s first-level HEO class took place last spring in Marysville, involving 14 students who spent two weeks in classroom work and then two more weeks learning to handle small skid steer loaders, mini-excavators, dozers and hydraulic excavators. Students created a 2-foot-deep pond with a 6-foot-high berm; a 200-foot-long, 30-foot-wide roadbed; and a rock retaining wall, among other projects.

Wilder Construction Co. of Everett and Imco General Construction of Bellingham provided most of the students and instructors. A variety of equipment for the fieldwork was provided by the CAT Rental Store in Marysville, a division of NC Machinery in Tukwila.

“Now we finally have a training program for open-shop contractors throughout the state … instead of training them in-house,” said Bob Helsell, chairman of Wilder Construction.

For more information, call the Western Washington Operating Engineers’ Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee, 425-486-2273, or e-mail jatc@wolfenet.com, or the CITC, 425-454-2482, or www.citcwa.com on the Web.

Back to the top/January 2004 Main Menu