Lincoln Tech offers heavy-equipment training

Dawn Furnas//November 15, 2022//

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Lincoln Educational Services Corp. introduced Heavy Equipment Operation career training programs at its Lincoln Tech campuses in South Plainfield and Nashville, Tenn.

The Parsippany-based technical training provider announced the programs Nov. 14, stating that the first class opened in October in Nashville, and the South Plainfield program is expected to begin Nov. 22.

Heavy equipment includes bulldozers, backhoes, dump trucks and other construction vehicles that require dexterity, quick reflexes and attention to precise details.

The program consists of two, 120-hour training modules and can be completed as a standalone option or in combination with Lincoln Tech’s standard Heavy Equipment Maintenance Technology program. Training lasts from eight to 12 weeks, depending on the campus and schedule selected.

The new course will introduce students to the trade, teach job-safety fundamentals and provide core curriculum from the National Council for Construction Education and Research, which includes topics such as materials handling, construction mathematics, using hand and power tools, and more.

The hands-on training includes operation techniques, understanding landscape grades, earthmoving, using basic controls, loading, unloading, excavating and trenching.

Students will also use CAT Simulators, a virtual reality tool that puts them “behind the wheel” through simulated environments.

“We know that students have expressed a great deal of interest in learning how to operate construction equipment,” Hamed Shibli, president of Lincoln Tech’s South Plainfield campus, said in statement. “We also have heard from many of our partners that hiring qualified operators is a major challenge right now. This new program will bring benefits both to our graduates, and to the employers looking to hire them.”

Lincoln Tech cited statewide projections over the next 10 years for 5,000 heavy equipment operator openings in New Jersey; nationwide, the projection is for more than 450,000 positions to become available.

Offering training since 1946, Lincoln Educational Services Corp. offers recent high school graduates and working adults career-oriented programs in automotive technology, health sciences, skilled trades, business and information technology, and hospitality services. It operates 22 campuses in 14 states under four brands: Lincoln Technical Institute, Lincoln College of Technology and Euphoria Institute of Beauty Arts and Sciences. Lincoln also operates Lincoln Culinary Institutes in both Maryland and Connecticut.