One of the largest hurdles you will face with being a heavy equipment operator is gaining field experience. You need equipment, schooling, and property to practice on.
With "AI" replacing white collar professions, more and more people are moving into trades, which require practical skills and technical knowledge. Rather than a four-year college degree, learning a trade is done through apprenticeships or vocational school for good pay and stability.
Starting in March 2026, we will begin to offer hands-on training for excavators and front-end loaders. Our practical training course will put you in the driver's seat and teach you real world scenarios designed to make you stand out to employers. In addition to the instructor led education, you will be given practice time in a machine to build muscle memory.
-About the Training-
Much like driver's education when going for your driver's license, you need to practice and learn the rules of the road. You won't leave your schooling as a professional, but you will learn best practices and feel comfortable doing it.
Our training packages will teach you both field knowledge and equipment operation. This will be comprised of both classroom instruction and field demonstration to create a real life scenario. During operation, your group will have constant communication with the instructor via a high-end radio headset to guide you through the process.
-Packages-
Excavator Package: Pricing will be announced soon!
Trainees will spend two days learning about excavator operation, and work as a small group with an industry professional to perform a real world task. Upon completion, this package includes 12-hours of practice-time, which can be used over 4-months. Practice-time will be scheduled by appointment and allow you to spend up to 4-hours in the machine per visit.
Skid Steer Package: Pricing will be announced soon!
Trainees will spend two hours learning about skid-steer operation, in a small group with an industry professional to learn about the machine and best practices. Upon completion, this package includes 12-hours of practice-time, which can be used over 4-months. Practice-time will be scheduled by appointment and allow you to spend up to 4-hours in the machine per visit.
UPDATE (1/8/26): We will be announcing our upcoming schedule within the next week. Our first session will be offered the end of March 2026. If you have already signed up on our waitlist, you will be notified by email once class dates have been announced.
M.G.L. c. 146 § 53 states that anyone who will operate derricks, cableways, machinery used for discharging cargoes, and temporary elevator cars used on excavation work or used for hoisting building material, when the motive power to operate such machinery is mechanical and other than steam, including but not limited to excavators, backhoes, front end loaders, uniloaders, skid loader, skid steer loaders, compact loaders or similar devices, lattice cranes, derricks, cranes with or without wire rope; all fork lifts, powered industrial lift trucks, overhead hoists (underhung), overhead cranes, underhung cranes, monorail cranes, lifting devices, cableways, and powered platforms, or any other equipment that has the minimum capability of hoisting the load higher than 10 feet, and either the capability of lifting loads greater than 500 pounds or the capacity of the bucket exceeds 1/4 cubic yards must hold a license from the Department. See 520 CMR 6.01.
You must be 18 years of age or older.
Yes. Provided that rental entity has an approved a short-term rental program, the hoisting machinery regulations allow individuals renting compact hoisting machinery to obtain a temporary permit from the short-term rental entity for a fourteen (14) consecutive day rental period upon completion of the entity’s training program. See 520 CMR 6.03.
No. M.G.L. c. 146, § 53 provides an exemption for hoisting machinery used exclusively for agricultural purposes.
Yes, we offer a group discount.
- Groups of 5 or more may receive $25 off per person.
- Groups of 10 or more may receive $50 off per person.
We also offer a $50 multi-class discount for individuals taking both our 1C/2A & 1B/3A classes.
Discounts will automatically apply in shopping cart if you are ordering all items at the same time.
Yes. A Massachusetts ID is accepted when applying for a hoisting license.