If you’re looking for a job that is interesting, demanding, and often involves working with heavy equipment in tight spots, then consider a career as a heavy equipment operator in the field of landscape gardening. If there has been one boom area in the last five years, then it has to be landscape gardening and re-vegetation programs. It may seem a strange mix, heavy gas guzzling equipment working on environmental programs, but is shouldn’t be given the technology now available, and the type of work involved.

Businesses, whether they are factories or commercial office buildings, are all trying to find ways to become environmentally friendly. For many, it has been the conversion of empty space around their buildings into well manicured landscape gardens. This can take a lot of work, and this is where heavy equipment plays a vital role. Backhoes in particular can be particularly useful, breaking up the ground, removing excess unusable soil, then back filling with quality soil ready to grow plants. In recent years, smaller units like bobcats and skid steer loaders have also found their way into these roles, especially with smaller contractors.

In other areas, re-vegetation has become an important issue. The banks of rivers and streams, tracts of land where buildings once stood, and inner city precincts where land has been reclaimed are all the subject of re-vegetation. Heavy equipment is again often called in to remove sour soil and to replace this with topsoil that has been prepared for these areas. Removing sour soil also removes the non-native vegetation that has been growing in that area.

These are interesting careers as you often work closely with those heavily involved in environmental issues. They are also experts at land care and the types of vegetation best suited to different areas. You don’t necessarily need skills in landscaping or the environment to work in these fields. You do, however, should have the skills and some experience operating the equipment in use. Heavy equipment training can prepare you well for operating backhoes, bobcats, and skid steer loaders. Interested? Contact ATS for information on our next heavy equipment training program – there could be a career in the landscaping or environmental industry just waiting for someone like you.

While just about every construction site has its heavy jobs for which full blown excavators are required, there is no shortage of smaller jobs that backhoes can be used for. In fact, for smaller applications, backhoes are much more versatile than their larger cousin. What is the reason for the versatility of small backhoes? It is of course, their compact size.

Think about landscaping applications, where there is an enormous need for earthmoving. The average backyard does not have an entrance that would permit an excavator to enter. You can get them in there, but it often involves a great deal of disruption. Unless the job is really big, it might not be necessary. Small backhoes can fit into much tighter spaces and perform the same work on a smaller scale. It might take longer, but the disruption that this saves might make the additional job time worth the expense.

Of course, backhoes get a lot bigger than the small backyard landscaping models, and these can compete with excavators for some of the larger jobs. The excavator’s strength is that it is a mobile powerhouse. It can perform very heavy excavation jobs and demolition jobs. It is designed and built with these purposes in mind. There is and always will be a place for both types of equipment, but consider training in backhoes if you want to work outside of industries that tend to employ excavators.

If you are interested in learning more about either excavators or backhoes, please do not hesitate to contact us at Associated Training Services.