Sampson Community College’s (SCC) Heavy Equipment Operator program recently completed an immersive three-day training session at the Sampson County’s GFL Environmental Landfill Site. Thanks to the partnership with GFL, students had the opportunity to work one-on-one with seasoned operators at GFL-- gaining hands-on, real-world instruction with large-scale equipment specific to the site.

Topics covered during the three-day visit included: equipment maintenance, pre-trip inspection on all equipment, safety practices in the field, proper grading technique, proper loading and excavating techniques, dirt hauling operations and more.

Ashley Grimes, Heavy Equipment Instructor, shared in a press release, “It is great to have partners in our community that will allow our students to see on site operations and provide real life scenarios for operators. We appreciate GFL’s commitment to training the next generation of operators. Partners like GFL are what makes this program successful.”

Before visiting the site, Vice President of Workforce Development & Continuing Education Amanda Bradshaw and her team reached out to Joseph Smith, Landfill General Manger II at GFL Environmental, who graciously considered this to be the “perfect opportunity for GFL to partner with SCC.” Beginning as a program in Fall 2023, Heavy Equipment Operators have continued to thrive at SCC because of local partnerships such as this, which provide authentic training and experience to learners.

Smith stated in a press release, “Our team here at Sampson County Landfill welcomed all thirteen operators and staff with open arms, ready to train the students about our day-to-day operation. We were able to teach the basics of our equipment maintenance program, and the fundamentals of running D5 dozers, 349 excavators and off-road dump trucks. The students did an outstanding job learning the GFL standards of operations. We were very impressed with the class and hope to be able to recruit SCC equipment operators in the future! We look forward to continuing the partnership.”

SCC extends its gratitude to Joseph Smith and his team at Sampson County’s GFL site for their support of student success. The College is grateful for their dedication to future heavy equipment operators and looks forward to continuing their partnership for years to come.

For more information about the Heavy Equipment Operator program or how to enroll, visit http://www.sampsoncc.edu/heavy-equipment.