Heavy Equipment Operator School

The school is licensed by the Oregon State Department of Education; is a W.I.A. eligible training provider, and accepts students from a wide variety of sources. Tribal Councils, Vocational Rehabilitation offices, NAFTA, the Veterans Administration and State Employment Departments are just a few of the agencies which have referred students to the sc... hool. Although most of the students who attend school here come from the Pacific Northwest, we have had students from as far away as England, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Alabama, Wyoming and from north of the Arctic Circle in Alaska. We have a highly experienced and very patient staff of instructors which has resulted in an unusually high graduation rate for our students. Care is given to see that everyone attending the school is given the optimum chance to succeed. A good attitude and the willingness to learn are the only prerequisites to beginning a successful career in the exciting and rewarding field of heavy equipment operation. Students learn to safely and efficiently operate 8 different pieces of heavy equipment. These include: Front end loaders, backhoe/loaders, road graders, bull dozers, excavators, dump trucks, rollers and a skid steer. The work site has ideal soil for heavy equipment training. There is no clay and no sand. The site rests on an old riverbed adjacent to a gravel mine. The dirt we move is mixed with small rounded stones which provide a learning tool for the student He or she feels the drag on the bucket or blade as they dig trenches, basements and build roads. This prepares the students to work in any type of soil they may encounter on a job. Contractors will tell you how important it is for their equipment operators to be able to read, shoot and check grade. Our students learn this through extensive classroom work which is then put into practice at the work site. Students design their own grade stakes, and dig according to the design. They are then evaluated on their finished product.Read More