The Republic of Kosovo is a landlocked country with Central Serbia to the north and east, the Republic of Macedonia to the south, Albania to the west, and Montenegro to the northwest.
The largest city and capital of Kosovo is Pristina. After the Kosovo War and the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, the territory came under the interim administration of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK.) In February 2008, the Assembly of Kosovo declared Kosovo's independence as the Republic of Kosovo. Its independence is recognized by 70 UN member states and the Republic of China (Taiwan.) On 8 October 2008, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution asking the International Court of Justice for an advisory opinion on the issue of Kosovo's declaration of independence. On 22 July 2010, the ICJ ruled that Kosovo's declaration of independence did not violate international law, which its president said contains no "prohibitions on declarations of independence." (Source: Wikipedia - Kosovo)
The largest city and capital of Kosovo is Pristina. After the Kosovo War and the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, the territory came under the interim administration of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK.) In February 2008, the Assembly of Kosovo declared Kosovo's independence as the Republic of Kosovo. Its independence is recognized by 70 UN member states and the Republic of China (Taiwan.) On 8 October 2008, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution asking the International Court of Justice for an advisory opinion on the issue of Kosovo's declaration of independence. On 22 July 2010, the ICJ ruled that Kosovo's declaration of independence did not violate international law, which its president said contains no "prohibitions on declarations of independence." (Source: Wikipedia - Kosovo)
The Unemployment Rate for Kosovar Men is 42%
In early 2010 the construction of a € 700,000,000 road project consisting of a 117 km, 4 lane roadway was planned. USA based Bechtel, and Turkey based Enka were selected as the primary contractors. However, due to lack of technical skills and substandard safety practices, Kosovo subcontractors were at a disadvantage in getting hired to work on the project because the larger contractors wanted trained workers who were able to meet international standards.
In early 2010 the construction of a € 700,000,000 road project consisting of a 117 km, 4 lane roadway was planned. USA based Bechtel, and Turkey based Enka were selected as the primary contractors. However, due to lack of technical skills and substandard safety practices, Kosovo subcontractors were at a disadvantage in getting hired to work on the project because the larger contractors wanted trained workers who were able to meet international standards.
Having workers go through recognized training could result in an additional 10% (€ 70,000,000) being added to the Kosovar economy. This situation helps to illustrate something that HeviCert is a proponent of as an ambassador for the heavy equipment construction vocation:
The value of a heavy equipment operator...
- To a country: a national resource
- To a government: a productive citizen
- To an employer: a company asset
- To a family: a provider
We also recognize that women are just as capable as the men in the heavy equipment vocational fields. Historically we have enrolled an average of about 5% women students; and they typically do very well. Women are always encouraged to get training.
It became obvious that training was going to be required in order to be able to have access to the available funding. So the Road Contractors Association of Kosovo (RCAK) contacted the Kosovo Private Enterprise Program (KPEP) which is a division of Booz-Allen-Hamilton, contractors for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID); to arrange to train 40 "experienced" Kosovar heavy equipment operators to international standards.
This included assessment and certification of post-training abilities which would enable the contractors to publicize and market the construction skills of the local contractors who participated in the training.
The objectives of the training were to train the operators to the European Qualification Framework (EQF) equivalent skill level 3 to 4; and meet International Standards Organization (ISO) part 7130 standards.
The training began on the first of March, 2010 and was held for 8 weeks which consisted of two training cycles, each four weeks long with 20 students per cycle. It was a balance of both classroom theory and practical field skills training.
Training featured skills on Dump Truck, Compactor, Loader, Backhoe, Hydraulic Excavator, Dozer, and Motor Grader.
There was extensive training in general safety, safety on the job-site, on the equipment, and in terms of personal safety; also care for the environment in relation to heavy equipment operation.
A high benchmark for safety in every area is a cornerstone to our program, along with creating a culture of safety which extends from the management down to the workers.Mechanical and maintenance fundamentals were covered to help insure that the equipment is being kept in optimal working condition on a consistent basis and to keep downtime and costly repairs to a minimum.
Hydraulic excavator simulators were used to help the students who were new to the excavator to master hand-eye and muscle-memory-motor-control skills and coordination. It also helped to rapidly increase precision and skill in working on controlling the excavator in low tolerance situations. 
Each piece of equipment was covered in detail from the ground up. This included operational fundamentals and tips from long-time professionals on how to do critical tasks in using the best possible technique, first in the classroom and then followed up with practical application and assessment in the field. Math fundamentals, stake reading, grade setting, surveying, layout, and use of lasers were taught and used in the field; and fundamentals of two-dimensional, and three-dimensional grade-work systems were also covered in the course.
This was followed up with training on having a positive work ethic and attitude, crew management techniques, communication, teamwork, and leadership training to help enhance the overall impact that these newly trained workers would have upon the rest of the workers as the newly recognized leaders within the country.
Field training included extensive grade-work, road construction, and advanced work on developing, final assessment, and certification of heavy equipment operation skills. Operators ranged from several months of equipment experience to over 15 years of experience. All agreed that their skills and knowledge had been significantly improved through the training. This included comments from the major contractors who visited the training while in progress, the Kosovo contractors who sponsored students, and the USAID staff who helped to facilitate the program.
One year later HeviCert was contracted to assist in setting up a permanent heavy equipment training center, sponsored by USAID and the Kosovo Electrical Cooperative, "KEK."
HeviCert was contracted to return to Kosovo again in April of 2011. A permanent, HeviCert approved training facility and NCCHEO host test site were established. Classroom and field instructors, as well as NCCHEO examiners were all selected, trained, and certified.
Two more "short courses" (which prepare operators for certification) were conducted between May 2, 2011 and July 15, 2011 for entry-level operators.
Many of these candidates were referred by the Kosovo labor ministry who is interested in utilizing the training center facilities to help unemployed individuals to be trained to be able to qualify for new jobs as operators.
HeviCert's proprietary training system and certification procedures made it possible for the new staff at the training center to be able to do the classroom instruction, field instruction, and certification with very little assistance from HeviCert staff after the initial training was completed.
Everyone was very satisfied with the outcome and KEK has asked HeviCert to work with them on developing Heavy Equipment Mechanic, Supervisory Training, and Advanced Heavy Equipment Training and Certification in the future.
Several government officials also visited the training center and are working with HeviCert to utilize the facility to strengthen the workforce and to train existing operators and heavy construction and concrete workers to be able to achieve higher quality and safety standards in their work.
HeviCert was instrumental in providing critical resources including:
- Instructors who are trained in how to conduct training using professional, ethical, and effective methods; and who are technically competent and experienced.
- Curriculum and Syllabus preparation to help organize effective course implementation and organization both in the field and in the classroom.
- Educational Resources; presentations, videos, books, handouts, and heavy equipment learning aids.
- Simulators to help evaluate, pre-train, and maximize the time, resources, and controlled focus of each student in their goal to become as skilled as possible in the time alloted, while utilizing less hard assets for initial skill training.
- Classroom Presentation Equipment; projectors, Internet access, and efficient use of resources.
- Work with Translators to provide technical language and deliver the course in a way which all participants could benefit from with our video based, instructor led classroom instruction method.
- Financial Coordination to facilitate optimal training impact for the financial resources made available through USAID and the RCAK.
This has resulted in a total of over 86 candidates who have graduated from the program.
