Caterpillar invests $5M in Texas manufacturing workforce
Caterpillar Inc. is investing $5 million to strengthen the talent pipeline for advanced manufacturing jobs in Texas, the company announced Thursday at its Seguin facility.
The move comes amid the Trump administration’s push to boost the U.S. manufacturing industry and is part of a broader $100 million pledge Caterpillar made last year to invest in the U.S. workforce.
Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday tours the Caterpillar facility in Seguin.
Kelsey Brown/San Antonio Express-News
Gov. Greg Abbott speaks Thursday at the Caterpillar facility in Seguin.
Kelsey Brown/San Antonio Express-News
The goal is to boost “future-ready, high-quality careers,” said Christy Pambianchi, Caterpillar’s chief human resources officer. “Over the last decade … we’ve tried to really emphasize manufacturing here in the United States,” she said. “We’re kind of rebuilding the educational pipelines and the training pipelines to grow a manufacturing workforce.”
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A key part of Caterpillar’s initiative includes educating people about what advanced manufacturing jobs look like. Manufacturing has changed in the last 30 years, and the job often entails working with automation and innovative technology, she said.
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“Not a lot of people are inside the four walls of a plant, so they don’t always know it’s super modern, really interesting jobs,” she said. “We need more young people to aspire to jobs in manufacturing.”
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While the money will be invested in spurring interest in manufacturing jobs and linking Caterpillar with education systems and training institutions across the state, there are no specific guidelines for how that $5 million will be allocated — but that is intentional.
Rather than coming in with boxes to check and a clear end point, Pambianchi explained that Caterpillar is looking to partner with local educational and training institutions, economic development organizations and companies to identify the gaps that need to be filled.
“We’re going to work locally, bottoms up, to say ‘What would have the highest impact here? ’” Pambianchi said. “Of course, we want to benefit from that, but also the whole community is going to benefit.”
Gov. Greg Abbott, who toured the Seguin facility before the announcement was made, has been leading the state’s efforts to strengthen its workforce pipeline and train workers to use new technology in manufacturing as part of the Texas Task Force on Modernizing Manufacturing.
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“Bottom line, our economy is going incredibly well,” Abbott said. “Caterpillar is a tremendous asset to the Texas economy. A reason why companies like Caterpillar and so many others are moving here is because Texas is well known for having high-skilled job training programs, like what we’re talking about here today, that provide, literally, the best workforce in the United States.”
He also said Caterpillar made the “right decision” to move to Texas. The company announced in 2022 that it was moving its global headquarters from Deerfield, Ill., to Irving.
Seguin Mayor Donna Dodgen said Caterpillar’s investment could provide a path out of poverty for the city’s residents. The city has a poverty rate of 17.1%, higher than the state average of 13.4%, according to census data.
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It’s a “big deal” for there to be high-skilled manufacturing positions that offer annual salaries of upward of $100,000, but what’s even more important, she said, is that the investment would create access to education and economic success.
“Rather than just the true college track — people have choice,” she said. “It’s about choice.”
While there’s an emphasis on recruiting young workers, Mike Reeser, chancellor and CEO of Texas State Technical College, a partner in the investment, said Caterpillar’s investment will provide clear pathways for people at different stages to lock in a secure manufacturing job.
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For people who are underemployed and looking for expanded job opportunities, he said a credential from a technical college is a great alternative to a master’s degree.
“You take the communication skills and the critical thinking and the capabilities taught by a bachelor’s degree, and then you add a technical certification on top of it, and you become irresistible to employers,” Reeser said. “You’ve set a career arc that is sure to grow rapidly.”
Pambianchi said the investment could grow in Texas. The goal is to create a sustainable pipeline of talent to fuel its manufacturing facilities in Texas cities such as San Antonio, Schertz and Seguin.
“It’s not just a job. It’s a pathway and an entry to a career — a career that could be very robust,” Pambianchi said. “It could take you in a lot of directions.”
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Caterpillar isn’t the only company investing in training programs.
In June, Meta Platforms Inc. launched a $115 million nationwide program to train construction workers, fiber technicians, welders, plumbers, electricians and skilled trades workers. The five-week, fully funded training program aims to address the labor shortage across the state and nation.
