Page 324 - Peterson 85 Years and Going Strong

Peterson’s ThinkBIG Northwest graduating class of 2018
would like to send more students, but there aren’t any more seats available. We just can’t fit any more students into the facility. It’s that successful.”
In 2006, Peterson launched ThinkBIG North- west at Portland Community College along with Halton, NC Machinery, Tractor & Equipment (T&E), and Western States. Since then, the pro- gram has grown both in reputation and content. In 2018, the Cat dealership group added an electric power generation track. “Our goal is to give stu- dents a really strong, foundational understanding of EPG components,” explains Gjerman. “We fo- cus 100 percent on Cat equipment, but what they learn on Cat switchgear translates to non-Cat switchgear and most other non-Cat components.”
For the first year, earthmoving and EPG students go through the same classes together, since the information is pertinent to both. Beginning with
the third semester, they branch off into their spe- cialty—earthmoving or EPG—for the remain- ing three semesters. Because of the smaller pow- er generation market, ThinkBIG’s EPG track is only offered at the Portland campus. “There just isn’t enough demand to offer EPG in California because the four dealers can’t absorb twenty-four new entry-level EPG techs every year,” explains Gjerman.3 “And the college is not going to host a program unless there’s a guaranteed twenty-four students a year. Otherwise, it becomes a finan- cial drain for them.” Together, the two programs provide a platform for Peterson and its allied Cat dealers to grow their own technicians and meet the industry needs in the future.
Year after year, Peterson fills ten seats at both of its campuses, plus another five for its new EPG track and any extra slots that the other Cat deal- ers don’t use. “Twenty-three students started the
3 As of 2020, there are four California Caterpillar dealers—Peterson, Quinn, Holt of California, and Hawthorne. All are involved in the California ThinkBIG program.
322 | PETERSON: 85 YEARS AND GOING STRONG