Rigging, Hoisting & Heavy Equipment Careers

The “skills gap” debate runs deep with a lot of people in this country and although the argument isn’t new, it’s still vigorously debated. Mike Rowe from the hit TV show “Dirty Jobs” has been interviewed on almost every news network and talk show, and can often be quoted a saying “I am not an advocate for blue-collar jobs, but a fan of them.”

So with student loan debt of more than 1.3 trillion currently, which now runs higher than credit card debt. Young people are borrowing money they don’t have, to possibly get an education for jobs that no longer exist, all-the-while straddling loans they may not be able to pay back. Although there is no one institution or group to blame, we do not have to stay with the fixed mindset that it is just the way things are and what power do we have to change it.

Due to recognition of the skills gap and the high paying careers that are available the tide is slowly beginning to turn. Several trade schools colleges and universities are beginning to answer the call. Durham College and others like it have put together a Rigging, Hoisting & Heavy Equipment Lab. This is not your average classroom with chairs and a blackboard to discuss book chapters and provide quizzes. This is a state of the art rigging, hoisting & heavy machinery lab and classroom where students learn theory, with hands on training so they can learn under the supervision of knowledgeable professors.

Students learn and engage in math, physics, mechanical and structural engineering concepts, electrical and electronics and many other disciplines. The lab is also equipped with working models of cranes, gantry cranes, block and tackle, rigging equipment and safety procedures. The lab also has 3-D electronic simulators and actual heavy equipment dashboards, so students can learn firsthand as if they are in the driver seat. The instructors can also interact with students by creating real life scenarios such as wind, rain, snow and low fuel conditions to test students reactions in adverse situations.

It is laboratories and schools like these that are opening the door to opportunities for rigging, hoisting and heavy equipment technicians, which are skills that are in great demand anywhere you go.

Video of Durham College Lab