| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Type | For-profit career school; in-person certificate programs, no degrees |
| Campus | One, at 6401 Convair Rd, El Paso, Texas, beside El Paso International Airport (since July 2023) |
| Programs | Heavy equipment operation (Level One, Level Two, an add-on specialization), Class A truck driving (CDL) and a combined truck driver and heavy equipment course |
| Program length | 50 to 486 clock hours; heavy equipment “under 4 weeks”; truck driving 5 or 8 weeks (the school gives both) |
| Credentials | ASC certificate; OSHA 10-Hour certificate in heavy equipment Levels One and Two |
| State approval | The school says it is approved by the Texas Workforce Commission’s Career Schools and Colleges office (not confirmed in TWC’s directory) |
| Accreditation | None (VA record) |
| Federal aid | No federal student aid found; approved for GI Bill benefits (facility code 25107143) |
| History | Roots in Academy School of Careers (1986), which ASC acquired in 2021 |
| Phone | 915-505-6488 |
| Facts checked | October 2026 |
A heavy equipment and truck driving school at El Paso’s airport
ASC Technical Institute trains heavy equipment operators and commercial truck drivers at a single campus in El Paso, Texas. It traces its roots to 1986 and its predecessor, Academy School of Careers; El Paso TV station KTSM reported that ASC acquired that school in 2021. In July 2023 ASC held a grand re-opening in a renovated former FedEx facility at El Paso International Airport, 0.2 miles from the front entrance of Fort Bliss, which the school stresses; the VA counted 198 students using GI Bill benefits there in October 2026. The courses are short: the 150- and 200-hour heavy equipment programs finish in under four weeks. ASC is not accredited and does not offer federal student aid.
Programs and clock hours
| Program | Clock hours | Length | Credential or exam | Tuition (2022 catalog) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heavy Equipment Operations Level One | 150 | Under 4 weeks | ASC certificate and OSHA 10-Hour certificate | $9,200 |
| Heavy Equipment Operations Level Two | 200 | Under 4 weeks | ASC certificate and OSHA 10-Hour certificate | $12,025 |
| Heavy Equipment Secondary Specialization Elective | 50 | Not stated | ASC certificate (add-on specialty) | $2,820 |
| Truck Driving (CDL) | 200 | 5 weeks (CDL page) or 8 weeks (Programs page and 2022 catalog) | Class A CDL knowledge and skills tests, with hazmat content | $6,485 plus $715 books and supplies |
| Truck Driver/Heavy Equipment Operator Combination | 486 | 10 weeks (2022 catalog) | Not stated | $9,850 plus $150 books |
Clock hours are from the school’s catalog page (October 2026). Tuition is from the catalog dated 18 October 2022, the only one we found, and may have changed. All training is in person, in the classroom and on the yard; there are no externships. The school’s home page names Caterpillar, Deere and Volvo equipment. The VA’s list of approved programs and the 2022 catalog also include Medical Assistant, Medical Coding, Phlebotomy Technician, Bilingual Electrical Assistant and Plumbing as a Metal Trade, but the current website advertises only heavy equipment and truck driving, so ask whether those still run.
What the main programs cover
Heavy Equipment Operations Level One
Level One is 150 clock hours. In the 2022 catalog it began with 70 core hours: orientation, basic safety, construction math, tools, heavy-equipment safety, an introduction to the machines, basic operating techniques, trenching, grades and the OSHA 10-Hour course. The other 80 hours went to one equipment specialty. The school names excavators, backhoes and bulldozers as its core machines and also lists loaders, forklifts, industrial trucks and tractors, and paving and surfacing equipment. Graduates receive an ASC certificate and the OSHA 10-Hour certificate.
Heavy Equipment Level Two and the secondary specialization
Level Two is 200 clock hours. It adds more construction math, in-depth training on equipment specializations and reading civil blueprints, and in the 2022 catalog students chose two specializations instead of one. It also includes the OSHA 10-Hour certificate. The 50-hour Secondary Specialization Elective is an add-on specialty that earns another ASC certificate. ASC lists no crane program and does not mention NCCCO crane operator preparation, so students aiming for crane work need another school.
Truck Driving (CDL)
The 200-hour course prepares students for the Class A CDL. The 2022 catalog’s course list covered DOT regulations, hazardous materials, space management, 50 hours of yard skills, 65 hours of behind-the-wheel road driving and a job placement unit; the current CDL page adds hazmat paperwork and emergency-response information. That catalog ran the course 5 hours a day, Monday to Friday. The school does not mention the DOT medical card that federal rules require of CDL applicants, so arrange one before you start.
Truck Driver/Heavy Equipment Operator Combination
The combination course puts truck driving and heavy equipment training into a single 486-hour enrollment, which the 2022 catalog scheduled over 10 weeks; the Texas workforce training list gives the same length. It suits students who want both a Class A CDL and time on construction machines. It appears on the school’s catalog page but not on its Programs page, so ask whether it is still enrolling and which heavy equipment level it includes.
Cost: only 2022 prices are published
ASC does not publish current tuition. The latest prices we found are in its catalog dated 18 October 2022 (effective 5 July 2022):
- Heavy Equipment Level One: $9,200 tuition, plus $1,545 for optional housing, meals and transportation ($10,745 in all).
- Heavy Equipment Level Two: $12,025 tuition, plus $1,890 optional ($13,915).
- Secondary Specialization: $2,820 tuition, plus $285 optional ($3,105).
- Truck Driving: $6,485 tuition, $150 books and $565 supplies ($7,200).
- Truck Driver/Heavy Equipment Combination: $9,850 tuition and $150 books ($10,000).
Ask for a current enrollment agreement, since prices may have changed since 2022.
We found no sign that ASC takes federal student aid (Pell Grants or federal loans). Its admissions page mentions “Grants & Private Loans”, and its catalog page links a template for a 180-day institutional loan at 0% interest that becomes 7% after default. The lender named on the template is Vocational Training Institute, LLC of Phoenix, Arizona; we could not find how that company is related to ASC. The school is approved for VA education benefits (GI Bill facility code 25107143) but not for the Yellow Ribbon program, and the 2022 catalog has a separate refund policy for VA students.
Admissions, start dates and schedule
The 2022 catalog admits applicants aged 18 or older, or 17 with a parent or guardian co-signing. It lists no high school diploma or GED requirement, and the current admissions page gives no requirements at all. Under that catalog, new classes started every other Wednesday, with a day session from 6:45 AM to 5:15 PM and an evening session from 5 PM to 10 PM, and a 10-minute break each hour. Students were dropped after four absences and had to keep a 70% weekly exam average. The current website states no schedule, so confirm which sessions are running before planning around a job.
State approval, VA approval and no accreditation
ASC says it is approved by the Texas Workforce Commission’s Career Schools and Colleges office, and the City of El Paso’s July 2023 release says the same; we could not check TWC’s own directory and found no license number. The VA lists the school as not accredited, and no accreditor is named anywhere. ASC publishes no completion, licensing or job placement rates. Texas’s workforce training provider list still carries the school under its old name, Academy School of Careers, at the old 9001 Cashew address.
Job search help, no externships
ASC offers “lifetime job search assistance”: help with resumes, interviews and job listings. Its catalog says the school makes no promise or guarantee of employment, and it names no hiring employers. There are no externships. The 2022 catalog sold optional housing, meals and transportation with the heavy equipment programs (prices above); the current website does not mention housing.
Before you enroll
- ASC is not accredited and offers no federal student aid, so students pay with savings, GI Bill benefits, grants or loans. Read the institutional loan terms, including the 7% rate after default, before signing.
- The only published prices date from 2022. Get the current total cost, what it includes and the refund policy in writing.
- The school gives two lengths for the same 200-hour truck driving course, 5 weeks and 8 weeks. Ask for the class calendar and daily hours. A third-party directory says ASC is on the FMCSA Training Provider Registry for Class A and Class B, passenger, school bus and hazmat training; the school’s own site does not say so and we could not confirm it, so check the registry yourself.
- An earlier version of this page said ASC teaches only on weekday evenings. That is not supported: the 2022 catalog had day and evening sessions, and heavy equipment courses of 150 to 200 hours in under four weeks mean long days.
- The certificates are the school’s own plus OSHA 10-Hour. ASC does not mention any third-party operator certification, and it lists no crane training.
Sources
Checked October 2026: ASC Technical Institute · Catalog page · Catalog, 18 Oct 2022 (PDF) · Campus · Career placement · VA GI Bill Comparison Tool · KTSM, July 2023 · City of El Paso release, 6 Jul 2023 (PDF)
Programs & Courses
Heavy equipment operation
- Heavy Equipment Operations Level One (150 clock hours, with OSHA 10-Hour)
- Heavy Equipment Operations Level Two (200 clock hours, two specializations, with OSHA 10-Hour)
- Heavy Equipment Secondary Specialization Elective (50 clock hours, add-on)
Truck driving
- Truck Driving CDL, Class A (200 clock hours)
Combined training
- Truck Driver/Heavy Equipment Operator Combination (486 clock hours, 10 weeks in the 2022 catalog)
Campus Locations
El Paso, TX 6401 Convair Rd., El Paso, TX 79925