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(L-R) are Jason Swanbeck, sales representative, crushing and screening; Chuck Dandfer, service specialist; Andrew Thomas, apprentice; and Will Barnett, director of training.

Brandeis Machinery, a division of Bramco, offers an apprenticeship program that is nearing a decade of training new technicians for a career in servicing equipment. The training facility is at the Brandeis corporate headquarters in Louisville, Ky. The program has been so successful that the company recently added a second location in Nashville., Tenn.

A diagnostic prescreening test of the candidates is run before they enter the program, developed by Brandeis. This industry-recognized curriculum can be modified to accommodate the learning needs of the students. The 72 percent retention rate after the students become certified speaks to the success of the program.

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Sessions begin in January and July, with 10 to 12 students in a class. The two-year program consists of approximately 18 months of classroom and hands-on training and on-the-job training, followed by six months of manufacturer or industry specific training.

In the final six months of the program, apprentices and branch service managers collaborate to match branch needs and apprentice interests for manufacturer training. Manufacturer-led training can include any of the brands represented by Bramco including Komatsu, SENNEBOGEN, Wirtgen Group, Takeuchi and Epiroc.

"We try to incorporate most of the brands we represent in the training held in our training centers," said Will Barnett, director of training. "All the machines that we include in the classroom and in hands-on training are current production models, so our apprentices are getting the most up-to-date information and experience possible."

All technicians are offered the opportunity to be full-time employees of Brandeis Machinery while gaining knowledge and building experience around the company's products and services. As employees, they are eligible for:

• full benefits package;
• performance-based pay increases;
• tool purchase program;
• company uniforms;
• vacation time awarded immediately upon hire; and
• paid holidays and 401(k) program with company match up to five percent.

Training/mentoring is provided by Brandeis Machinery technical training staff, manufacturers, industry experts and experienced technicians in the field.

"Bramco is incredibly involved in and supportive of the apprenticeship program," said Barnett. "I wish this kind of training was around when I started out. It's nice to know this opportunity is available to people that may not have had the resources if this program was not in place."

About Brandeis Machinery

Since 1908, Brandeis Machinery, a division of Bramco, has been selling, servicing and renting heavy equipment for the construction, mining, road construction, paving, forestry, crushing and screening, aggregate, material handling, scrap, waste and recycling industries.

The company has locations across Kentucky and Indiana, and with its sister company, Power Equipment, extends to Tennessee, Arkansas and areas of Mississippi, Virginia and West Virginia.

For more information, visit brandeismachinery.com. CEG

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