Building Idaho’s New Workforce: Six locals graduate from ICONIC training program
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) — Six Idahoans are trading graduation tassels in favor of hard hats, as they take a running start into a new career. Through the ICONIC Program, a collaboration between the Idaho Transportation Department and the Department of Labor, these six graduates spent the last month getting hands-on experience to become heavy equipment operators.
After just five weeks, the training is already paying off. Several of today's graduates are already lined up to start their careers in civil or highway construction.
ICONIC graduate Stuart Rubio joined the program looking for a career change after 32 years working as a long-haul trucker. Starting Monday, he'll be working full-time at Knife River Construction.
"I was looking for something to stay at home, because I got my kids. So I want to spend more time at home," explains Rubio. "In my interview, I was hired as the loader operator for the asphalt plant, so I'm pretty excited for that."
Today's graduates were chosen out of 78 applicants to join the month-long academy. Baker Technical Institute provides the underlying training teaching the basics of dozers, loaders, excavators, skid steers, and all the major pieces of equipment.
The training begins with two weeks of high-tech simulations before students are allowed to operate actual machinery. By the end of the month, students earn industry-recognized certifications in equipment operation, as well as traffic control and flagging.
"They learn about two and a half times faster using simulators," explains BTI President Doug Dalton. "Then we moved out to a piece of property and set up a, you know, a mock construction site, and that's where they finished their training. And they did outstanding.
The program comes at a crossroads for the American workforce. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed in November 2021, provided funding for roads, bridges, transit, electric vehicle networks, broadband, and water systems across the United States. But Dalton says it also highlighted a glaring shortage of skilled laborers.
"It is a massive project. It creates jobs, it creates openings. It's a great investment in our country. But it came at a time when we don't have the labor to do it," explains Dalton. "So, you know, we're trying to do everything we can to get ahead of that and to try and continue to supply as much labor towards that."
The ICONIC Program is set to head to Boise. The program will have a slightly larger class, running from the middle of April through the third week of May.
