We partner with our 161 Cat dealers and dozens of organizations across the globe to make an important and lasting impact in the communities where we live and work. By building up underserved communities, empowering women and inspiring a new generation of future workers, together we make sustainable change happen.
We are committed to helping our employees continually develop their professional skills throughout their Caterpillar careers. That’s why we partner with dozens of professional and technical societies and organizations. Our partnerships with these global organizations help employees grow their networks, build their skills, and improve our products and services.
Caterpillar’s partnership with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and other historically Black colleges and universities has allowed us to engage with students from multiple institutions and diverse backgrounds at the same time. This allows us to efficiently educate students about the businesses that we serve as well as the exciting career opportunities that exist. Providing students exposure to these things is critical to broadening their horizons to understand how they can use their degrees to positively impact the world while doing something that excites them.
Solar Turbines’ Apprenticeship Program fosters best-in-class advanced manufacturing talent through a robust partnership with the state and a local community college.
The Apprenticeship program, the oldest one in California, allows for a specific number of on-the-job training hours, as well as classroom hours. Apprentices work on the production floor under the guidance of skilled journeymen and journeywomen. Together, they will work on job assignments and practice projects to build a foundation of machining knowledge and skills. To reinforce their training, apprentices also are required to complete a specific course list from San Diego City College.
Trades offered include:
In 2021 the Caterpillar Foundation partnered with The Manufacturing Institute and provided a $2.25 million grant to support the work of Heroes MAKE America, an initiative that builds connections and career paths between the military community and the manufacturing industry.
Our customers are also doing their part to drive diversity and inclusion in their business models. Jennifer Todd, president of LMS General Contractors, shares how she overcame the odds to become a business owner in the construction industry and why she believes in investing in others.