This year, Cat Footwear is excited to celebrate the students who have chosen to take the next steps in their construction career.
Cat Footwear, a leading footwear brand under Wolverine World Wide, Inc., knows there is a great need for skilled workers in the construction trades. According to the National Student Clearinghouse, enrollment in construction trade courses have increased by 19.3% from 2021-2022. This shift to more skills-based labor could be a relief for the US economy, which has an active shortage of 500,000 construction workers.
Therefore, with more and more students making the bold decision to enter a career in construction, Cat Footwear wants to celebrate, inspire and educate on what it means to be a student in this trade.
Ahead of this upcoming school season and in partnership with Caterpillar Inc.’s ThinkBIG program, Cat Footwear will be joining forces with three students from three community colleges, and in collaboration with a sponsoring Cat dealer, to talk about their stories and experiences in taking this exciting step. Cat Footwear will amplify these stories across certain media platforms through sharing construction tips, back-to-construction school checklists, and inspiration for other students on this journey.
“Many young adults don’t go straight from high school to college, as more students are choosing to pursue an education in skilled trades. Consequently, they’re often left out of the ‘Back to School’ conversation for having taken a different post-secondary route,” said Lauren Heindl, Sr. Marketing Manager at Cat Footwear. “Therefore, we at Cat Footwear are honored to highlight three construction students whose stories excite, empower and guide both current and future students, particularly in the construction trade. From their biggest inspirations to the skills they’re most proud of, we’re so excited to celebrate the journey these students have gone on thus far, and the goals they have as they pursue their passion.”
In addition to sharing the stories of these three students, Cat Footwear will be donating 500 pairs of shoes to students in the ThinkBIG program, host a giveaway for $300 to be used on CatFootwear.com and offer a student and teacher promotion during this campaign. For more information, please visit Cat Footwear and ThinkBig.
About CAT Footwear: Cat Footwear, the official footwear licensee of Caterpillar, is committed to extending the Cat brand to consumers around the world. Since 1994, Cat Footwear has been igniting consumers’ passion for the
Cat brand. What began as a small collection of work boots has grown into a global offering of work boots and lifestyle shoes sold in nearly 140 countries and territories around the world. Cat Footwear is trusted globally by consumers for providing shoes that are as rugged, durable and as unapologetic as Cat earthmovers, so that consumers can break new ground.
About ThinkBIG: ThinkBIG is a Caterpillar®-specific instructional program that pays you while you train to become a technician. Once accepted into this two-year program, you alternate between labs and classroom work, and a paid internship at a sponsoring Cat dealership. When you graduate, you will have earned an accredited degree backed up with over 2,000 hours of work experience. Compared to the traditional approach of college education before employment, ThinkBIG gives you the opportunity to gain valuable on-the-job experience from the beginning of the program. This interactive approach to development will help build Your future career, whether you enjoy working in the shop or prefer the independence of traveling to work sites and interacting with customers.