Northark in Harrison, Ark., is training students for construction equipment careers amid industry demand. Offering hands-on experience, program prepares students for work on job sites. Instructor Chad Hathaway emphasizes the importance of practical skills for future success and job placement.
North Arkansas College/Luby Equipment photo
North Arkansas College (Northark) in Harrison, Ark., is helping to prepare students for a career as an operator of construction machinery through its heavy equipment program.
Construction equipment operators are the driving force in building roads, bridges, buildings and other infrastructure.
They work in all kinds of weather — blistering heat, frigid cold, rain — and in all kinds of conditions, depending on the project. Currently, there is a shortage of men and women entering the construction field to run these machines.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2023, "about 45,700 openings for construction equipment operators are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire."
North Arkansas College (Northark) in Harrison, Ark., is helping to prepare students for a career as an operator of construction machinery through its heavy equipment program. Instructors Chad Hathaway and Lyndell Deckard teach a dozen students per year the ins and outs of running dozers, excavators, skid steers, backhoes and more.
"We're the only heavy equipment program in the United States that does real work on real job sites," said Hathaway. "There's not a whole lot of these heavy equipment programs around anymore, because they're so expensive to operate."
The program introduces students to operating heavy machinery and provides a credential for entry-level positions in the industry. It also provides certification of basic operating skills to employers, according to the school's website.
"I hear from companies that say they were looking for people and couldn't find them," Hathaway said. "There's a huge gap in the workforce right now, especially for heavy equipment operation. So, we have companies coming to us and looking for operators all the time."
The school lists the following learning outcomes of the program:
• Learn and understand the basic safety and operating procedures of the machines used in heavy equipment operations;
• obtain the operating skills of a hirable heavy equipment operator, suitable for any job site;
• have the ability to use the instruments to read grade and make adjustments;
• know what materials to use and where to use them; and
• successfully complete the NCCER Core Curriculum and Heavy Equipment Operations for NCCER credentials.
Students are involved with a project at Boone County Regional Airport on a parking lot and road extension project.
"We're building a parking lot for a new hangar complex," said Hathaway. "The good part is we're working with engineers who have done the blueprints and will come out and oversee things, like do compaction tests and make sure it's to spec."
Northark has been offering the class since the 1970s. Hathaway has been teaching it for nearly 10 years.
"One of the reasons we keep going is because we do stuff for our local community, schools, charities, local county stuff," he said. "It's good for the students, because they're going to see the real problems they run into on a real job site."
According to Hathaway, most of the equipment the students use is Case.
"I grew up on a Case backhoe. When I was 12 years old, I was running a Case 580E. Probably 90 percent of the backhoes I ran were Case," he said. "Jim Richiert of our local store [Luby Equipment] has been a big supporter of this program for years. They've gone out of their way to help us. They've loaned us equipment. They've given us deals on rentals. They've been really good to us."
Luby Equipment has nine locations throughout Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas and serving the oil and gas industry in West Virginia. Luby offers brands such as Case, Toro, Fecon, Virnig, Vail, Indeco, Leica and more.
When asked what his favorite part of his job is, Hathaway said watching the students move on.
"The majority of our students are employed before they graduate," he said "Most have a job offer two months before graduation. It's rewarding to see them go out and start a career."
For more information, visit northark.edu and lubyequipment.com. CEG
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![“Jim Richiert of our local store [Luby Equipment] has been a big supporter of this program for years,” said Chad Hathaway, program instructor. “They’ve gone out of their way to help us. They’ve loaned us equipment. They’ve given us deals on rentals. They’ve been really good to us.” (North Arkansas College/Luby Equipment photo
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