Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Heavy Equipment Courses Take Two Years To Complete

Did you know that you can become a Heavy Duty Equipment Technician in just two years? It is possible with the Heavy Duty Equipment Technician (Co-Op Apprenticeship) at Centennial College, which not only prepares you for the field but also results in an Ontario College Diploma. The best part is that all you need to be considered for acceptance is the possession of at minimum an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or General Educational Development (GED) or equivalent; satisfactory results in a program admission session; experience and mechanical aptitude; a resume and English proficiency.

The Heavy Duty Equipment Technician program is presented as having the ideal balance between practical application and theory thanks to its combination of on-the-job, co-op training at a heavy equipment work place and in-school curriculum.

As such, during the first eight months of the offering, students study at Centennial College’s Ashtonbee Campus. Here, they attend specific Heavy Equipment courses such as Trade Practices, Engine Systems, Drive Train Systems, Brake Systems, Electrical Systems, Fuel Systems, Fluid Power Systems. As you can see, Heavy Duty Equipment courses focus on applied mechanics, vehicle dynamics as well as component design and repair, as it applies to the apprenticeship curriculum. In addition, students take courses in advanced electrical/ electronics, logistics, plus hoisting and rigging that is only available at Centennial. To off-set the Heavy Equipment courses, students also experience business and professionalism courses such as:  Occupation Health and Safety, College Communications, Organizational Behaviour, Global Citizenship, Fixed Operations Management and more. Because the Heavy Duty Equipment Technician program is offered out of Ashtonbee Campus, Ontario’s largest transportation training centre, students get to learn by fixing actual heavy duty equipment vehicles using tools that are used in the field.

After their eight months on campus, students of the Heavy Duty Equipment Technician program spend eight months at a heavy equipment facility. During this time, they apply their knowledge, network and get to know professionals in the field. After completing their eight on-the-job months, students return to the college to complete their entire Ontario apprenticeship in-school curriculum.

Many students of the Heavy Equipment Courses offering end up staying on as full-time employees at their co-op placement upon graduation as they enter the apprenticeship aspect of their careers. Among the responsibilities of these professionals are: checking bulldozers, cranes, graders and other heavy construction, agricultural, logging and mining equipment for proper performance and inspect equipment to detect faults and malfunctions; adjusting equipment and repairing or replacing defective parts, components or systems; testing repaired equipment for proper performance and to ensure that work meets manufacturers’ specifications; and much more.

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