Heavy Equipment Technician

Combines, excavators and transport trucks keep the Prairie economy moving, and every one of them needs a technician who understands diesel power and hydraulics. Assiniboine’s Heavy Equipment Technician is a nine-month pre-apprenticeship certificate that trains you to service agricultural, heavy equipment and transport trucks. It is taught in the Len Evans Centre for Trades and Technology at the North Hill campus in Brandon, with starts in April and September.

You begin with Orientation/Shop Skills-HDET, Math - HETCH and Electrical Science, then spend fifteen credits on Electrical Systems. The mechanical core is Engines, which centres on the diesel engine, Hydraulics, which covers hydraulically actuated functions and hydrostatic drives, and Power Trains. HVAC Systems adds cab climate control, Welding 1 gives you basic repair welding, and Communications and Industry Encounter prepare you for service writing and the expectations of employers.

Training happens in a dedicated heavy equipment shop where students work on diesel engines, power trains and electrical and mechanical systems. HVAC Systems includes MOPIA certification for handling refrigerants. A practicum of at least 120 hours places you in a working shop, open to students with a grade point average of 2.0 or higher. Graduates with a 70% trade average who register as apprentices within two years can receive Level 1 credit and 900 hours towards Heavy Duty Equipment Technician, Agricultural Equipment Technician or Truck and Transport Mechanic apprenticeships.

Heavy Equipment Technician graduates are hired by equipment dealerships, independent repair shops, heavy duty and agricultural companies and component parts suppliers, and later move into service management. Typical starting roles are apprentice heavy duty equipment technician, apprentice agricultural equipment technician, apprentice truck and transport mechanic and parts technician. The programme suits mechanically minded people who are happy working anywhere from a heated service bay to a remote job site.