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Heavy Equipment Operations

Funding is available through the Philip E. & Carole R. Ratcliffe Foundation Scholarships. Contact a Career Navigator for more information and to get started.

Courses are held at Harford's Leading Edge Training Center Powered by the Ratcliffe Foundation, located at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Harford & Cecil Counties, 2002 Cedar Drive, Edgewood, MD.

If you enjoy working independently, being outside, driving big vehicles, and seeing the results of a hard day of work, a career as a Heavy Equipment Operator may be in your future. 

Heavy equipment operators must be willing to get dirty, greasy, muddy, or dusty. They must possess basic math skills, the ability to read and follow plans, and the ability to effectively communicate with project leaders and coworkers. Advancing in this career may require learning to operate several different machines. Operators drive machinery used to construct roads, bridges, buildings, and other structures as well as read construction stakes, calculate cut and fill for grading, and understand how to control surface and ground water on a job site. Heavy Equipment Operators are a valuable part of any construction team and this program gets you started.

Program Overview

CREDENTIAL 
Heavy Equipment Operations certificate

NO. OF COURSES
4

TIME TO COMPLETE
two semesters

CONTACT
training@harford.edu

REQUIREMENTS
Must be at least 18 years of age

Courses

  • Introduction to Heavy Equipment Operations
  • Heavy Equipment Operator—Site Work and Grading
  • Heavy Equipment Operator—Enhanced Site Work and Soils
  • Excavation Math & Interpreting Civil Drawings

Students learn safety, identification, and basic operational techniques as well as the skills and knowledge required to understand the conditions and markings of the job site and the responsibilities of the heavy equipment operator. 

What can I do when I complete this program?

There is always construction somewhere, and Heavy Equipment Operators are needed to keep the projects going. Upon completion of Harford Community College's Heavy Equipment Operator program students will be qualified to operate heavy equipment machinery on a construction job site. That may include front-end loaders, dump trucks, graders, bulldozers, backhoes, rollers, and cranes.