Get Certified on 8 Pieces of Heavy Equipment in Just 8 Weeks

Stop waiting on a better paycheck. Get the real equipment seat time and field experience you need to prepare for a high-paying career as a heavy equipment operator.

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100% Real Iron

Zero Simulators. Real Construction Site Training.

Performance-Based Graduation

Earn Your Credentials In The Dirt, Not A Written Test.

10:1 Student Ratio

Dedicated Instruction. No Operator Gets Lost.

Built to Train Job-Ready Operators

Excavator and Loader working on site

Maximum Seat Time

Most schools teach from a classroom. We teach from the operator's seat. From your first week, you'll be operating real heavy equipment on an active training site — no video games or simulators here. Every hour is designed to build the confidence, muscle memory, and practical skills employers expect. Classroom instruction is there to support your time in the field, because that's where real operators are made and industry skills are built.

Student operating mini excavator with instructor

Skills Before Paperwork

Anyone can memorize answers for a test. Operating heavy equipment safely and efficiently is something you have to prove. That's why every HEO Academy certification is earned through hands-on performance testing. After demonstrating your operating skills, students may choose to complete optional NCCER knowledge exams. As an accredited NCCER testing center, we provide access to nationally recognized credentials that complement your hands-on certifications.

Wheel loader moving materials

Job Placement Support

We focus on getting you ready for a paycheck, not just a certificate. From day one, we help you build a professional resume, develop interview skills, and prepare for real hiring conversations with contractors. Employers regularly visit the academy to recruit directly from our training site and meet graduating students. Every graduate also gains access to our hiring partner list and a private alumni network where new job opportunities are shared continuously.

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Our Training Programs

Heavy equipment fleet
8 WEEKS $15,500

8-Piece Certification

Learn to operate the equipment employers use every day. This is our most complete training program.

  • ✓ Train on 8 major pieces of heavy equipment
  • ✓ Learn grading, trenching, site layout, OSHA & blueprint reading
 Bulldozer
3 WEEKS $7,200

Bulldozer Certification

Learn to confidently operate a bulldozer through hands-on grading projects.

  • ✓ Rough & finish grading techniques
  • ✓ Blade control, slope work & site preparation
 Excavator
3 WEEKS $7,200

Excavator Certification

Master one of the most in-demand machines in construction. Gain hands-on experience.

  • ✓ Trenching, excavation & utility work
  • ✓ Safe digging practices & OSHA standards
 Loader
2 WEEKS $5,200

Wheel Loader Course

Learn to safely move, load, and stockpile material while developing efficiency.

  • ✓ Truck loading & stockpile management
  • ✓ Material handling & safety procedures
 CDL Truck
4 WEEKS $4,250

Class A CDL Training

Prepare for your Class A CDL with classroom instruction and road driving.

  • ✓ Range practice & on-road driving
  • ✓ Pre-trip inspection & exam prep
 Crew
FLEXIBLE CUSTOM

Custom Contractor Training

We develop custom programs for contractors, municipalities, and companies.

  • ✓ Equipment, OSHA, MSHA & safety
  • ✓ Customized schedules for any size
REAL EQUIPMENT. REAL CONDITIONS.

THIS ISN'T
SIMULATOR
TRAINING.

Heavy equipment is learned from the operator's seat. Students train on real machines, in real dirt, building the control, judgment and confidence that only comes from hands-on operation.

Heavy equipment operators training on excavators, loaders, skid steers and bulldozers on a dirt training site
100% REAL IRON Built to learn by doing.
01
REAL MACHINES

Train on Actual Equipment

Get in the operator's seat of real heavy equipment—not simulators.

02
REAL TERRAIN

Work in the Dirt

Dig, grade, load and operate through changing terrain and real ground conditions.

03
REAL REPETITION

Build Skill Through Repetition

Practice real operating tasks until control, accuracy and confidence begin to come together.

Heavy equipment instructor working with students beside an excavator at HEO Academy
Real Training. Real Responsibility.

Built for the Jobsite

More Than
Seat Time.

Learning the controls is only the beginning. Build the safety habits, machine awareness and practical jobsite knowledge that help you become a capable operator.

Safety & Jobsite Awareness Recognize hazards. Work with purpose.
Pre-Operation Inspections Check the machine before you run it.
Equipment Care & Maintenance Build habits that protect the equipment.
Grade & Elevation Fundamentals Understand the numbers behind the work.
Material & Soil Awareness Know what you're moving and why it matters.
Planning & Crew Communication Read the job. Communicate the plan.
Learn to Think Like an Operator. Real equipment. Real responsibility. Skills that go beyond the seat.
HOW TRAINING BUILDS AN OPERATOR

FROM FIRST CONTROLS. TO REAL PRODUCTION.

Eight weeks gives students time to do more than learn what the controls do. Skills are introduced, demonstrated, practiced on real equipment and repeated until students can perform the work safely, accurately and productively.

OPERATOR TRAINING JOURNEY
01
LEARN IT

Build the Foundation

Safety, inspections, maintenance and the fundamentals behind the work.

02
SEE IT

Understand the Task

Watch the work demonstrated, understand the objective and learn what a properly completed assignment should look like.

03
OPERATE IT

Build Skill Through Repetition

Get on real equipment and develop control, accuracy, judgment and efficiency through hands-on repetition.

04
PROVE IT

Demonstrate the Skill

Certification is performance-based. Demonstrate safe, capable operation—not simply completion of scheduled hours.

REPETITION BUILDS OPERATORS.

Every pass, trench, load and grade is another opportunity to build control, judgment and production.

TRAINING FOR WHAT COMES NEXT

BUILD. OPERATE. MASTER.

Learning to operate is just the beginning. HEO Academy training is designed to build the skills, judgment and confidence that come from working on real equipment—along with the safety habits, responsibility and work ethic employers expect. The goal is to prepare operators who can step onto a jobsite ready to learn, contribute and become someone a crew can count on.

Heavy equipment operator arriving at an active jobsite while crew members review plans beside a loader
TRAINING WITH A PURPOSE REAL TRAINING. REAL RESPONSIBILITY.
01
PRODUCTION SKILLS

Do More Than Move the Machine.

Build control, accuracy, judgment and efficiency through repeated hands-on operation on real equipment. Students learn to work with purpose—not simply make the machine move.

CONTROL ACCURACY EFFICIENCY
02
EMPLOYER-READY HABITS

Become Someone a Crew Can Count On.

Good operators bring more than equipment skills to the job. Safety, inspections, equipment care, communication, attendance and work ethic all matter when you're part of a working crew.

SAFETY WORK ETHIC RESPONSIBILITY
03
CAREER PREPARATION

Get Ready for Your Next Opportunity.

Training is meant to lead somewhere. Students receive help with resumes, interview preparation and available employment resources as they prepare to take their skills from the training yard into the workforce.

RESUMES INTERVIEWS EMPLOYMENT RESOURCES
OUR APPROACH TO TRAINING
WE DON'T TRAIN STUDENTS TO PASS A TEST. WE TRAIN OPERATORS TO BUILD THE WORLD.
Find Your Training Path
ONE ACADEMY.
FIVE WAYS FORWARD.

Whether you're preparing for a new career, building a specific equipment skill or earning your Class A CDL, HEO Academy offers several ways to move forward. Compare program length, equipment and training focus to find the path that best fits what you want to learn and where you want to go next.

Eight pieces of heavy equipment used in HEO Academy training
Most Comprehensive
Eight Machines. One Program. Build a broader heavy equipment skill set.
The Complete Training Path

8-Piece Heavy Equipment Certification

8 Weeks Program Length
8 Machines Hands-On Training
$15,500 Tuition

Our most comprehensive heavy equipment program gives students hands-on experience across eight machines while building the practical skills, machine control and jobsite habits needed to keep developing as an operator.

Bulldozer Excavator Backhoe Front-End Loader Skid Steer Telehandler Roller Utility Tractor
Explore 8-Piece Training
Focused Training Paths
01
Focused Machine Training

Bulldozer

3 Weeks 1 Machine $7,200

Build practical dozer skills through hands-on training in blade control, grading, slope work and site preparation.

Explore Bulldozer
02
Focused Machine Training

Excavator

3 Weeks 1 Machine $7,200

Develop excavator control through trenching, digging to grade, material handling, truck loading and excavation work.

Explore Excavator
03
Two-Machine Training

Loader & Skid Steer

2 Weeks 2 Machines $5,200

Train on both front-end loaders and skid steers while learning material handling, loading, attachments and machine control.

Explore Loader & Skid Steer
04
Commercial Driver Training

CDL Class A

4 Weeks Class A $4,250

Prepare for your Class A CDL through practical commercial driver training and experience operating a manual-transmission truck.

Explore CDL Class A
Handwritten letter from former HEO Academy student Joey

This Is Why We Do It.

“You guys changed my life
and I’ll forever thank you.”
— Joey, Former HEO Academy Student

Joey stopped by the academy one day looking for his former instructor, Dennis. When he couldn’t find him, he left this handwritten note at the front desk.

No survey. No review request. No polished testimonial. Just a handwritten note from a former student who came back because he wanted to thank someone who had believed in him.

Some students come to us carrying years of doubt—believing they weren’t good enough, weren’t smart enough, or that opportunities other people had simply weren’t meant for them.

Sometimes all it takes is someone seeing more in them than they see in themselves. Give someone a chance to succeed at something they once thought was beyond them, and you can watch the way they see themselves begin to change.

That’s bigger than a certification.

Joey came here ready to change his life. Years later, he still remembered who stood beside him while he did.

And that’s why we’re here.