Anybody can pick up the basics in a few minutes, but it takes quite a few hours to get really good at it. Most operators you'll see aren't all that skillful.
Heavy equipment like backhoes and excavators are all joystick controlled like a video game.
It takes just a few minutes for folks who play video games to figure it out and operate them pretty well.
When my daughter was 12, it took her about 5 minutes to be operating an excavator almost like a pro.