Shea Chauncey, news editor

South Plains College teamed up with Warren CAT, a self-sufficient Caterpillar dealer, and Agco Crop, the builder of Caterpillar products, to provide a new optional two-year diesel service technology course.

 
Warren CAT will hire the participating students for the first two years while attending the program and for the next two years after graduation. They will learn how to repair engines, transmission, power train, troubleshooting, harvesting equipment, maintenance and combine manufacture, all which will pertain specifically to Caterpillar equipment.

“They will get some hands-on training and live experiences when they work in area dealerships for eight weeks,” said Don Whitnah, training supervisor for Warren CAT.

South Plains College will provide the instructors and the facility, while Caterpillar supplies equipment for the course and gives scholarships to the students. Warren CAT will provide $2,500 grants annually, and Caterpillar will match the grant.

“The demand for high quality, well-trained Diesel technicians is so great that SPC and Warren CAT Caterpillar initiated an agreement to instruct and train Diesel technicians in order to meet industry needs,” states Rob Blair, dean of technical education at SPC.

While attending the program, students will start at $8 an hour and will earn $10 an hour after the first semester. Depending on the students’ performance in class and on the internship, they could qualify for a 50-cent raise after each semester.

The hours spent on the internship will count towards the students’ credit hours for graduation. Those students who complete the program will graduate with an associate of applied science degree, an enhanced skills certificate, and will be employed by Warren CAT.

Warren CAT has 14 different dealerships, and the company is offering programs at Oklahoma State University at Okmulgee and at Odessa College. The students will receive training that will qualify them to service Challenger Tractors and other equipment made by Agco in Duluth, Georgia.

Classes will begin spring of 2005, on the SPC Reese Center campus and will meet in Building 6.
Students wanting to enter the program will need to send in an application for admission to SPC, provide high school or college transcripts and meet admissions criteria established by Warren CAT.
 

For additional information, contact Rob Blair, dean of technical education, at 806-894-9611, ext.2336 or e-mail him at reblair@southplainscollege.edu.