Heavy equipment program offered

Heavy equipment program offered
Other new community college programs will include an associate's degree in criminal justice in York County.
By BETH QUIMBY
Staff Writer Portland Press Herald

It used to be that anyone interested in taking classes to become a heavy equipment operator would have to travel to Washington County or out of state to find a training program.

But starting this fall, they will be able to obtain a certificate in heavy equipment operations at Southern Maine Community College in South Portland, which will offer the only degree in heavy equipment operations in southern Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. Heavy equipment operations is one of five new programs being offered at the state’s community colleges designed to meet the employment needs of businesses in Maine.

“The new offerings will help ensure that Maine industries and regions of the state have the skilled workers they need to grow and prosper,” said John Fitzsimmons, president of the Maine Community College System.

Other new programs include an associate’s degree program in criminal justice at York County Community College in Wells, which will be the only such program in York County.

The state’s first degree in traditional and contemporary crafts will be offered at Eastern Maine Community College in Bangor.

Kennebec Valley Community College in Fairfield is creating a one-year certificate in autism designed for special education technicians and other educators, and Washington County Community College will offer a one-year certificate program in building construction.

Seven heavy equipment simulators are already in place on the Southern Maine Community College campus, awaiting the first seven students in the one-year heavy equipment operations program – which already has a waiting list – this fall. The equipment was donated by construction companies that are facing a shortage of backhoe, bulldozer and other heavy equipment operators as members of the baby boom generation retire.

“A well-trained, talented heavy equipment operator is an artist,” said Janet Sortor, academic dean at the South Portland college.

Operating the current generation of computerized backhoes and excavators requires a range of technical skills. Students will study general construction safety, algebra and trigonometry, welding, site finishing and grading, engine design and electronics.

Sortor said heavy equipment operators earn an average $33,000 per year in southern Maine.

York County Community College’s criminal justice program is designed to meet the demand for law enforcement officers in southern Maine. Charles Lyons, president of the college, said the program will begin with about 30 students in the fall. The college may follow in a year with an associate’s degree in public safety administration. Lyons said a college education is required in the law enforcement sector.

“The fact that we have the (Portsmouth) Naval Shipyard, a huge sheriff’s department, Customs and Immigration, Fish and Game, and you have all these young people with no opportunity” without an education, he said.Today’s police officers require strong communication skills as well as an understanding of criminal and constitutional law.

“You are not just handed a gun and the keys to the car and go patrol,” said Lt. Charles Szeniawski, who hires new officers at the York Police Department.

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