Caterpillar puts up to $10 million into NC training as Sanford expansion advances

Caterpillar is putting up to $10 million behind workforce training in North Carolina as it plans about $1 billion in manufacturing capacity in the state, including a new Sanford facility to increase production of compact track loaders and telehandlers, the company said Oct. 15.

The workforce effort starts in Sanford but is designed with a statewide scope. Central Carolina Community College and the Sanford Area Growth Alliance are collaborating with Caterpillar on the program, which aims to expand hands-on training for students, improve access to affordable training for current and future workers, and bring regional employers into the discussion about skills needed for future jobs.

The labor need is already visible in Sanford. In May, Caterpillar said it was looking to add 600 assembly, logistics and fabrication jobs at its Sanford plant, The News & Observer reported.

Caterpillar employs more than 3,600 people in North Carolina and works with 325 suppliers across the state, according to the company. The training money is the sixth allocation under its five-year, $100 million Building the Future Workforce Initiative.

The program is not only a worker-training grant. Some funding is meant to help educators understand the skills workers will need, with the effort reaching community colleges, vocational programs, four-year institutions and high schools, Chief Human Resources Officer Christy Pambianchi said, according to The News & Observer. She tied the work to manufacturing modernization, including robotics, automation and AI, alongside the trades work in Caterpillar’s operations.