Having trouble finding heavy equipment operators?
The Heavy Equipment Operation competition through SkillsUSA offers a pipeline of new talent — and those supporting the event are reaping the benefits.
“We rely on SkillsUSA to help us identify and connect with emerging talent who can help us grow,” said Audrey Roman, Talent and Brand Manager for Martin Equipment, an Illinois John Deere dealership. “Over the years, we’ve hired many highly skilled technicians we first met through SkillsUSA.”
Martin Equipment’s involvement includes formal sponsorship and active participation in annual state and national competitions. The dealership first got involved in the Heavy Equipment Operation competition in its first year in 2020.
“This has been awesome for us because of the incredible opportunity SkillsUSA provides to connect with our future workforce,” Roman said. “The networking, energy, and talent we encounter through this program make it an easy decision to stay engaged year after year.”
| Your local Gomaco dealer |
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| Terry Equipment |
All of SkillsUSA’s competitions are created and judged by industry to ensure that students learn the real-world skills needed for entry-level positions. Each year in the national SkillsUSA Championships, more than 6,500 state champions compete for gold, silver, and bronze medals in 114 skilled and leadership competitions.
The event takes place during the SkillsUSA National Leadership & Skills Conference, the largest gathering of the country’s future skilled workforce. Held each June in Atlanta, Georgia, the conference provides a week-long celebration of the skilled trades, bringing together more than 19,000 students, instructors, industry partners, government officials, and administrators from across the U.S. The 2025 event was held June 23-27.
In its fifth year, the 2025 Heavy Equipment Operation competition featured 24 students from high school and post-secondary programs in 18 states — the highest participation level yet.
Competitors in Heavy Equipment Operation participate in 22 judged competitions over two days, including:
- Compact excavator skills challenges
- Rigging/hand signals
- Excavator trenching
- Backfilling
- Wheel loader loading
- Articulated hauler operation
- Blueprint reading
- Underground utilities identification
- Pre-start inspection
- Calculating densities and quantity and capacities
- Skid steer/compact track loader challenges
- Stacking and sorting with a mini excavator
- Surveying
- Compaction
| Your local Trimble Construction Division dealer |
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| SITECH Southwest |
| SITECH West |
Top finalists from state competitions, held each spring, advance to the national event.
To make the event possible, “Volunteer trainers and product managers from OEMs and equipment dealers spend weeks planning the competition, setting up the course, and judging students,” said Amy Crouse, Technical Chair of SkillsUSA’s Heavy Equipment Operation Committee and Volvo Construction Equipment’s Head of Public Relations and Exhibitions, North America.
“Many OEMs provide equipment and expertise, so it’s truly nonpartisan — we’re there for the student competitors and to better our industry!” she said. “We want to get more organizations involved.”
The Heavy Equipment Operation Committee currently includes volunteers from:
- Komatsu
- Caterpillar
- John Deere
- Volvo Construction Equipment
- JCB
- Bobcat of Atlanta
- Martin Equipment
- Yancey Bros. Co. (Georgia Caterpillar dealership)
- Ascendum (Volvo dealer in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee)
- Georgia 811
- OHIO811
| Your local Gomaco dealer |
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| Terry Equipment |
During the national event, Komatsu provides their customer center in nearby Cartersville, Georgia, for in-the-dirt competitions in Heavy Equipment Operation, with indoor activities held at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.
“We want to grow the competition by establishing more heavy equipment operation/maintenance programs in career tech schools across the U.S.,” Crouse said. “Contractors and equipment dealers can help support by being ambassadors with their local school districts, serving on technical committees, and even by donating gently used equipment to get the local school programs started.”
Justin Findley, an Instructor at Lancaster County Career and Technology Center in Pennsylvania, knows firsthand the value of that support.
For the SkillsUSA competition, “All the OEMs come together to put on an amazing event at both the Pennsylvania state level and nationals,” Findley said. “The support of local companies that judge the events, and afterward share great feedback, helps the students gain knowledge.”
| Your local Gomaco dealer |
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| Terry Equipment |
Throughout the year, many local companies also participate in Lancaster County Career and Technology Center’s Occupational Advisory Committee (OAC), which meets to discuss new industry developments, equipment needs, and how to best support students moving into the heavy equipment industry.
“The OAC members understand the value of the program and the importance of training students to be safe and productive members of their organizations,” Findley said. “They come out to our school to inform students not only of their companies but also about the industry, safety, and the amazing opportunities they have in this very in-demand industry.”
Local professionals also help teach topics ranging from trench safety to gas-powered demolition saws to pipe installation. Industry members donate materials, bring equipment for students to learn about and operate, and offer co-op opportunities.
“This really helps students grow and succeed in the classroom and gets them ready for entering the workforce full time,” Findley said.
| Your local Gomaco dealer |
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| Terry Equipment |
In the midst of the industry’s labor shortage, small investments of time or equipment in local school programs or any level of the SkillsUSA competition can lead to new workforce pipelines.
For more information, visit skillsusa.org.
