Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

PCC partners with Caterpillar to ThinkBIG

Photos and story by James Hill

PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland Community College has finalized an innovative partnership with international heavy-equipment manufacturer Caterpillar to be the first college in the Northwest to host the company’s ThinkBIG program. This partnership will give the Diesel Service Technology program the opportunity to train students from Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho as Caterpillar technicians. The program is located at the college’s Rock Creek Campus (17704 N.W. Springville Road) in western Washington County.Caterpillar dealers intend to recruit 24 qualified applicants for the Caterpillar Dealer Service Technician Program (ThinkBIG), starting September of 2006. The classes will provide students with a well-rounded knowledge of Caterpillar equipment and their high-tech systems. The program develops graduates, who have their coursework and books paid for by ThinkBIG, for positions as Caterpillar dealer service technicians.According to Caterpillar, results indicate that graduates from these two-year programs are performing at a level equivalent to what has taken six to seven years to accomplish through general programs and on-the-job experience. Part of the arrangement calls for contributions to the PCC Foundation each year from Caterpillar. Caterpillar dealer Halton Co. in Portland, with a long-time connection to the PCC Diesel Technology program, provided the local impetus. The partnership brings a new level of corporate commitment from Caterpillar to PCC."There are fewer and fewer technicians than what the industry needs and what ThinkBIG does is speed up the student’s ability to get very skilled at the job," said Sue Halton-Findlay, Vice President, Halton Co. "We are looking for high-quality people. They can earn money as they get schooling and end school with no debt."The students do that by working in internships at the participating Caterpillar dealers. The program teaches a special two-year college level curriculum, developed by Caterpillar that awards graduates an associate in applied science degree. "This is a fantastic opportunity to position Rock Creek Campus and PCC as the diesel service training hub for the Pacific Northwest," said Stuart Savin, Rock Creek Campus division dean of math and manufacturing. "Our selection was based on the strong partnership with the Halton Co., the Oregon Caterpillar dealer."ThinkBIG is designed for adaptation by Caterpillar dealers and colleges throughout the world. With the addition of PCC, the Caterpillar ThinkBig network consists of 14 colleges; 10 in the United States, one in Canada, Chile, Peru and Ecuador. Participating dealers include: The Halton Company (Portland); Peterson Machinery Co. (Eugene); NC Machinery (Seattle Wash.); Tractor and Equipment (Billings, Mont.); and Western States Equipment Company (Boise, Idaho).####EDITOR’S NOTE: On June 24, Tony Wright, a Tigard resident and a student in the PCC Diesel Service Technology Program, placed third at the Skills USA National Leadership and Skills Conference in Kansas City, Mo., competing against more than 4,600 students from across the country.