Järva County Vocational Training Center

Estonia
Road Construction Programme

Järva County Vocational Training Center (JKHK) is the only school in Estonia that teaches and
gives the professional qualification in road construction. Students of this Road Construction
Program receive strong theoreticat and practical training with the goal that every graduating
student knows how to operate all manner of road construction machinery. During these 3 study
years training is balances between theoretical and practical exercises.

Option 1 is for students to study 3 years in this specialty while also gaining a secondary
education, that gives them the opportunity to continue studies at the Tallinna Technical Higher
Education School (http://www.tktk.ee/index.php?id=1419) specializing in road construction. The
top 5 student who graduate from our program with the best marks are permitted to study at
Tallinna Technical School with free tuition.

Option 2 is to provide student the opportunity to learn without aquiring secondary education
obtaining only a vocational profession. Here students study for 3 study years on how to build
roads and use road construction machinery. With no additional fees they gain driving licences in
Category B, C, R, and T with driving instruciton provided. In addition, this program trains and
certifies in forestry and logging techniques when studying property maintenance.

The development of practical exercises using tractors and other machinery are carried out on
school property using a 14 hectares area, students are training individually on each machine.

The students are called by teachers at scheduled times between theoretical lessons for individual
instruction on machines. During practical lessons teachers explain to students safety
requirements, the objectives of instruction, and are receive driving instruction and machine work.
Students are initially trained on simple machines with simple tasks and are then gradually trained
on heavier and more complex machines and associated tasks. For the Car Driving School, lessons
are conducted at a separate training ground.

Vocational subjects taught that accompany practical training encompasses: economics and
business principles, labor law principles, communication and management, computer training,
professional foreign language, plotting, labor and environmental safety, building bases, building
metering, locksmith work theory and practice, roads and facilities geo composition, road
maintenance management, road materials, road construction machinery management and
maintenance, road construction techniques, theoretical training in maintenance operations, traffic
education, forestry, sawing, chauffeur training, off-road tractors and general construction
principles, of-road management and maintenance, training and career options.
3 Year Practical Training - various machines

Individual practical exercises - Year 1:

5 hours R Category for wheeled tractors, including 2 hours on dump trucks and 3 hours on single
trailers
4 hours of lessons on tracked bulldozers
3 hours of lessons on excavators
Additional practical exercises carried out where they learn about road materials and road
construction technology.

The

Individual Learning – Year 2:

2 hours of category R- tractors
2 hours of lessons crawler bulldozer
3 hours in the T category joint tractor
6 hours of lessons-loader bucket excavators
6 hours of lessons on road graders
2 hours of C1-transport truck driving school
5 hours of training transport car –B category
3 hours in a small lawn mechanisms for trimming and cutting brush
Further practical training exercises take place in carrying out work in maintenance and repair of
cars and tractors, and in road construction technology. Supplementing the school program,
students study surveying and toward the end of the second study year to fulfill apprenticeship
training and practice at enterprises and companies for a total of 9 weeks.
Practical exercises – Year 3:
Students begin the 3rd year with apprenticeship training and practice in enterprises and
companies, lasting a total of 8 weeks.

Individual practical exercises at school:

B- 10 hours of private passenger car
C1- 8 hours of truck driving
T- 4 hours of joint tractor training
1 hour of hydro rotary excavators
6 hours of road grader training

In addition to individual exercises, more practical laboratory exercises are required in:
road machinery, management, maintenance and repair, earth movement management, and
maintenance and repair, during which time students maintain and repair our relatively outdated
technology by acquiring the practical skills of maintenance and repair of machinery. Continued
work on maintenance of school grounds, forestry and sawing, during which students go to work
in the forest and acquire logging skills.
At the end of study year, students have additional 5-weeks of apprenticeship training at
companies.
Individual training of students
Vocational teachers take one or two students from the lessons and provide individual practical
exercises. For example, car driving or exercises on machines other than tractors. The teacher
explains the purpose until they are sure the student clearly understands. The rating system is
explained, as are requirements of labor protection for students, pre trigger machine control,
machine entering, various controls and control instrumentation, and what to do with all. The
teacher demonstrates to students the machine start up and shut down, student then does the same.
After starting the machine, the student does practical exercises with the teacher first showing the
student. The practical exercises are first on simpler tasks, and then student move on to more
complex and difficult exercises. During these exercises the teacher gives students extra guidance
on earth movement patterns, explain in more depth how the machinery is economical, and about
environmental sustainability. Exercises end with machine clean up and with parking. After that
the student and teacher analyze together what went wrong or right and how to do it better.

Student knowledge and skill assessment are based on:

 Safety and health regulations, fire safety compliance
 The attitudes to teaching and culture (sense of duty)
 The ability to properly carry out technical care after every engagement
 Starting and stopping the tractor-excavator
 Knowledge of and controlling equipment used in monitoring correct measurements
 The proper use of machine control levers, pedals•
 The ability to drive and start moving machinery, the exchange of gears, the correct speed
range, the various revolutions of the execution
 Skill to work on tasks
 Proper use of control levers and rotors
 Ability to use correct techniques in performance of work operations (extraction, handling,
working bulldozer, excavator or other machines)
 Proper cleaning for different machines, safe storage, proper installation on the driving
square.
Wheeled tractors - students learn to manage over 15 different exercises (with trailer), for use of
such machinery in any situation.

Bulldozer training is carried out through more than 5 exercises, such as: start-up and acquisition
of various driving -speed gears with ground handling, debugging, ditch driving, making pits, and
snow removal work.

Excavators with loaders/Excavators with shovels here students learn about driving, machinery
installation work, loading, excavation and much more.
Road Grading Machines, students gain clarity on how to perform difficult operations with these
machines and different venues of use.

B and C1 Categories of Cars in accordance with the instruction of the national school program.
Students receive a total of 25 hours in a car driving school.

Lab Sessions - during lab learning students learn about different cars, tractors and other
machinery, maintenance, and repair both theoretically and practically.
Locksmith practical exercises - here our students learn a variety of metal work and for these
who want can try welding.

Public welfare projects - students carry out various projects like laying of cobblestones and the
installation of curbs.
Free time – art, sport, various competitions