Contributed TRAINING — Students in the heavy equipment operator and construction program at Jefferson County Joint Vocational School are getting a real hands-on education with real and simulated equipment as they train to fill a growing need in the workforce.

BLOOMINGDALE — The heavy equipment operation and construction program is flourishing in its second year at the Jefferson County Joint Vocational School and intentions are to help fill a growing need in the field.

Eleven seniors and 14 juniors take part in the program and instructor Anthony Materna said the key is to produce safe and skilled operators who can enter the field upon graduation.

“There is a growing need for heavy equipment operators and operating engineers,” said Materna. “Our country has aging infrastructure and all this stuff needs rebuilt, upgraded and worked on, and that’s where this need comes from.”

Students are building their knowledge with hands-on training, whether it be with simulation equipment in the lab or actual vehicles on school grounds. The JVS has acquired a CAT D-1 bulldozer, a Takeuchi skid steer and mini-excavator, Ford F-550 dump truck and, most recently, a Yanmar SV-40 mini-excavator for its fleet. Plans are to purchase attachments for the equipment so pupils are familiar with the various uses. Materna said students complete such exercises as ditch digging, backfilling and material management on the equipment. In addition, they will undergo performance evaluations to ensure they are gaining the education they need to succeed.

He said the program has already shown great promise by employing the two graduates from last year’s inaugural class, while students have gained apprenticeships through the Ohio Operating Engineers Local 18. The school inked an articulation agreement last fall with the Columbus-based organization that makes pupils eligible to join the union’s apprenticeship program and puts them on track for a successful career.

The pact was renewed this summer for another year and gives students with 90 percent attendance and a B or better a greater opportunity to be approved for apprenticeships. In turn, they will receive a CDL Class-A license and learn about advanced technologies in construction, grade checking and how to safely and effectively operate a vehicle and an array of heavy equipment. Students must carry the attendance and grades for both years at the JVS and earn a 70 percent or higher on the apprenticeship fund’s admissions test to be eligible for direct entry, and it also opens them up to more benefits in the future.

“I had employability classes last year and got two students into the operating engineer’s apprenticeship. We’ve got a good track record so far and are hoping to keep the graduation percentage up,” he added. “It’s a highly skilled and demanding job, and I think that’s what drives the need. You don’t need a license to operate a bulldozer, you need to have skills. It’s also very competitive.”

Future employees Emma Rusciano and Logan Cline are looking forward to the opportunities coming their way once they complete the program.

“I want to become a crane operator,” said Rusciano, a senior at Catholic Central High School and daughter of Devon and Amber Rusciano of Cadiz. “It seems fun and makes (good) money.”

Rusciano believes she’s gaining the skills she needs at the JVS and plans to join the union upon graduation to obtain her crane certification.

Cline, a senior at Edison High School and son of Jerry and Ashley Cline of Steubenville, has similar plans to join the union when he graduates this spring and follow in his family’s footsteps.

“I’d like to work in construction and my grandfather was an operator,” he said, noting he is pleased with the training he’s receiving in the program. “You learn a lot of new stuff and it’s a lot of fun.”