You may remember reading last August about the monumental transportation-funding bill that was signed into existence by President Bush. The measure allocated a staggering 286.5 billion dollars for use in highway and transit spending. It is difficult to get a grasp on the number itself, let alone what it can potentially end up meaning for the country and its workers. According to the American Road and Transportation Builders Association, as quoted by Bloomberg (http://www.earthmoverschool.com/bill.htm), each addition billion dollars spent on road construction is worth more than 47,000 American jobs. This means that, in the long run, the transportation bill will be worth literally hundreds of thousands of jobs.
With this major economic boon fast approaching, it is important to learn the skills that will be necessary in order to take advantage of it. President Bush gave his speech celebrating the bill passage at the Caterpillar manufacturing plant, and he assured the employees there that demand for their machines would skyrocket. As that happens, the need for qualified operators of said machinery will also grow exponentially. The problem is, there is a severe lack of...