Operating Engineer at Operating Engineers Local 841

Operating Engineers Local 841 offers a union Operating Engineer apprenticeship in Universal, IN. Administered through a Joint Apprenticeship Committee (JATC), this program connects apprentices with union-backed training and real construction site experience, allowing them to earn income while developing heavy equipment operation skills under journey-level professionals.

The apprenticeship is four years long and encompasses 6,000 hours of on-the-job training and 432 hours of related technical instruction. Apprentices operate and learn to maintain machinery including excavators, cranes, bulldozers, graders, and scrapers across highway, utility, and building construction projects in Indiana. Classroom instruction addresses operational safety, equipment mechanics, site management, and trade-specific regulations.

Graduates achieve journeyman status as Operating Engineers, a union credential supported by IUOE collective bargaining. This opens access to stable, well-compensated employment across Indiana's construction industry, with strong demand for qualified heavy equipment operators in both public infrastructure and private development projects.