Caterpillar said Thursday, Oct. 15, it would direct up to $10 million to workforce training in North Carolina, linking the funding to a five-year effort to prepare people for manufacturing and industrial technician roles.
The allocation falls under the company’s Building the Future Workforce Initiative, a $100 million pledge announced in 2025. Caterpillar identified Central Carolina Community College as one partner and the Sanford Area Growth Alliance as another. The company said the effort aims to give students more ways to enter manufacturing, involve employers in training and broaden access to relevant instruction.
Caterpillar said it employed more than 3,600 people in North Carolina and worked with 325 suppliers in the state. The announcement did not say when those figures were measured. Chief Human Resources Officer Christy Pambianchi said, “Investing in people is essential to building the workforce advanced manufacturing will need for the future.”
The workforce allocation follows Caterpillar’s Sept. 30 plan to invest about $1 billion in North Carolina manufacturing. The expansion includes a planned Sanford facility for producing compact track loaders and telehandlers. Caterpillar’s workforce announcement did not connect the training allocation to that facility.
Caterpillar said the Sanford project could open career paths in advanced manufacturing but gave no job count. WRAL reported that Caterpillar spokeswoman Lisa Miller said the company did not plan to increase staffing at the facility and expected to train existing workers for the technology-enabled operation.
Central Carolina Community College and Caterpillar already run a two-year youth apprenticeship. The college said the program combines classes with paid work experience. Since it began, the program has inducted 224 apprentices and graduated 136, the college reported in May 2026.
