Fifty miles of Metroplex traffic
There is no quick way across from Southlake. The two usual routes are SH-114 east past DFW Airport into Irving and on to I-35E and US-175, or SH-360 south through Arlington to I-20 and east the whole way to Seagoville. In light traffic either takes about an hour. At 6:00 AM on a weekday it can stretch, and the afternoon drive home after a 5:30 PM finish is usually worse.
For a one-week course, plenty of people just drive it. For three weeks or more, the hours in the car add up and fatigue starts to matter when you are learning to make smooth, controlled lifts.
Courses that include a place to sleep
Our premium courses bundle training with optional room and board for students who live too far to commute comfortably. From Southlake that can be worth the price difference, especially on long programs:
- The Premium Mobile Crane Operations Fixed/Swing Cab Course pairs fixed/swing cab training with lodging.
- The Premium Plus Mobile Crane Operations Fixed/Swing Cab Course adds simulator time to the fixed/swing cab program and also offers optional room and board.
- The Premium Mobile Crane Operations Lattice Course covers crawler cranes with optional room and board.
Staying near the school also keeps your evenings free for load chart practice and written exam review. Details are on the housing courses page.
Who calls us from Southlake
Southlake is mostly residential and retail, so our students from there are rarely coming off a local job site. More often they are:
- Construction business owners or managers who want to understand crane operations firsthand, or who need a certified operator on payroll.
- Young adults deciding on a trade instead of, or before, college.
- Veterans settling in northeast Tarrant County and looking at the GI Bill.
The surrounding area has plenty of lifting work: commercial and mixed-use development along SH-114, ongoing construction at DFW Airport, and the large logistics district around the Alliance area of north Fort Worth.
Funding through Tarrant County
Most of Southlake lies in Tarrant County, where WIOA training money is handled by Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County. The small part of the city in Denton County falls under Workforce Solutions for North Central Texas. In both cases the board decides who qualifies, so start there before choosing dates.
We are approved for Post-9/11 GI Bill® (Chapter 33) and Veteran Readiness and Employment (Chapter 31). Employer-paid and self-paid enrollment are both common; see funding options.
Sending a crew instead of one person
If you own or run a company out of Southlake or Grapevine and need several people certified, group enrollment is simpler than signing each person up separately. Crews still train at our Seagoville yard, since that is our only site, but we can line up dates and courses for the group. Start at company classes.