Heavy Equipment Operations – Level I

To qualify for enrollment, applicants must be able to read and write the English language and be at least 18 years of age. Applicants must possess a high school diploma or equivalent. Most employers require a drug test; therefore, it is recommended that students are able to pass a drug screening test.

Certain criteria may disqualify an applicant because they may prevent a graduate from obtaining employment; admission may still be granted if the Institution determines the applicant is capable of obtaining employment upon graduation. The Institution will make this determination on a case-by-case basis.

Length. Full Time – 3 Weeks; 120 total instructional clock hours. A clock hour is defined as 50 minutes of instruction in a 60-minute period.

Training hours. 6:30 AM to 5:00 PM Monday – Thursday (Training Hours), weather and holidays permitted. All training hours will be offered but may be adjusted to accommodate weather conditions, holidays and other unforeseeable circumstances.

Class size. The number of students per class range from one to thirty students. Maximum student to instructor ratios is as follows: Classroom Instruction - 30:1, and field instruction - 12:1. The normal training day runs approximately ten hours with a lunch break.

Upcoming start dates. 10/5/2026, 10/26/2026, 11/16/2026, 12/7/2026, 1/4/2027, 1/25/2027, 2/15/2027, 3/8/2027, 3/29/2027, 4/19/2027, 5/10/2027, 5/31/2027.

22101: Orientation to the Trade. This course provides an overview of heavy equipment operation, operator responsibilities, and career opportunities. It covers basic principles of safety and engine operations.

22102: Heavy Equipment Safety. This course provides s a comprehensive overview of safety requirements on job sites, with emphasis on OSHA and NIOSH requirements. It presents basic requirements for personal protections, safely driving equipment, and HAZCOM.

22103: Identification of Heavy Equipment. This course introduces the ten most used pieces of heavy equipment such as dump trucks, backhoes, and bulldozers. It describes the functional operation and uses for each piece of equipment.

22104: Basic Operational Techniques. This course provides basic instruction for the safe operation and preventive maintenance of each type of equipment, including proper mounting, startup procedures, and basic movements of the machine and its attachments. The module is intended to provide the first hands-on experience with each type of machine. – December 31, 2027 17

22106: Grades Part I. This course introduces the concept of preparing graded surfaces using heavy equipment. It covers identification of construction stakes and interpretation of marks on each type of stake and describes process for grading slopes.

22205: Loader. This course presents an introduction to the use and maintenance of the loader, periodic maintenance, and SAFE operations. The different types of loaders are described along with the various attachments that loaders may utilize.

22212: Skid-Steer. This course presents an introduction to the use and maintenance of the skid steer, periodic maintenance, operation, and operator safety. The different types of skid- steers are described along with the various attachments they may utilize.

22302: Bulldozer. This course introduces the use and maintenance of the bulldozer, bulldozer operating techniques, and bulldozer attachments and their uses. Safer operation of the equipment is emphasized.

22303: Backhoe. This course presents types and designs of backhoe excavators, safer operating techniques of the backhoe and front bucket tractor and use of the backhoe for trenching and digging foundations. Setting up the backhoe safely is emphasized.

22304: Excavator. This course presents the use, safe operation, and maintenance of excavators; describes various operating techniques; explains and demonstrates the use of excavators in ditching, grading, and slope finishing operations.

LAB00011: Equipment Operation and Maintenance/Project Site Layout. Maintenance/Project Site Layout This lab is designed for trainees to put into action what they have learned in the classroom. Trainees will rotate between various pieces of equipment including the skid-steer, wheel loader, backhoe, bulldozer and excavator. Trainees will perform tasks with each of these machines, enhancing their skills and better preparing them for employment as an entry level operator. Trainees also will perform the necessary preventive maintenance required by these machines to keep them functioning properly. Trainees will be introduced to simple site work layouts. Trainees will model safe heavy equipment operating practices.

Housing. Available but not required: $570 – double-occupancy.

Financial aid. Heavy Equipment Colleges of America does not participate in Title IV federal funding. HEC works with several sources of funding, including, but not limited to: Approved for VA Education; Vocational Rehabilitation; Federal Trade Adjustment Assistance Program; Workforce Innovations and Opportunity Act; In-house financing; Bureau of Indian Affairs; Students may also pay cash; Other financing options for those who qualify. HEC does accept WIOA funds provided an agreement between the Agency and HEC can be reached.

The demand for knowledgeable and skilled heavy equipment operators is expected to continue to increase over the next ten years. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the field of heavy equipment operation stands to grow as much as 4% from 2025 to 2035.

Career services. The Institution's job placement service is available to assist graduates with finding employment. Students will undergo a job placement entrance interview/orientation with HEC. HEC will then begin contacting employers within the same geographical area as the students’ zip code, including those zip codes of out-of-state students, post job openings and assist the student in contacting prospective employers. Upon a student's successful completion of the program, the Institution will give each graduate a list of employers who have hired graduates or requested to be on the Institution's list. The Institution does not guarantee any of its graduates that they will become employed as a result of the training.

Outcomes (California School Performance Fact Sheet). On-time completion rate, calendar years 2023 / 2024: 99% / 99%. Job placement rate, 2023 / 2024: 79% / 73%.

Training material. Required books and supplies are provided to students. A training book containing the program curriculum is checked-out to students upon enrollment and students return the training book at program completion.

Training environment. Training may take place in a variety of academic environments including but not limited to lecture, hands-on, field, site, and lab. Field training is structured where students are organized in groups.