Heavy Equipment Operator

Hey guys and gals, long time reader &rare poster here...
I've been working containers out of Toronto for about 8 months (mostly going to Jersey, Philly and Montreal) and the company is planning on training me for flatbed soon. My ultimate goal is to become a construction heavy equipment operator (Backhoe, Bulldozer, Loader etc.). I've been looking at some colleges that offer training programs in the city (Boreal, Centenial and a few others).
I just wanted to ask if anyone here has had experience with this kind of job and can give me some pointers on how the job market demand is for operators, how is the job stability (especially with regards to seasons/climate), how's the pay, and what could be a good path to get there (how did you get there?) Are there any employers who would consider training truck drivers directly for this sort of thing or is the college training compulsory?
Thanks for taking the time to read... Cheers!

PS. edited for grammar, also here's a link to some of the training programs:
http://www.ontariocolleges.ca/SearchResults/PROFESSIONS-TRADES-HEAVY-EQUIPMENT/_/N-lpq9