According to company officials at Milton CAT, the success of a recent open house for students, their families and school representatives was a clear sign — young people need real-life choices as they make decisions regarding their careers and their future, and they appreciate the opportunity to learn more about the different paths they can take to reach their goals.

Corporate Technician Recruitment and Development Manager Ron Barton reported that 152 students, many accompanied by their parents, toured the Milford, Mass., headquarters, talked to staff members, and got a glimpse at the range of possibilities available today to well-trained service technicians. According to Barton, there were 18 high schools, six colleges and one middle school represented.

“Some visitors came from as far as Buffalo, N.Y., as well as from northern Maine,” said Barton, who added that a special guest was Massachusetts State House Representative Steven Howitt.

Barton said that guests first toured Milton CAT’s earthmoving location at 100 Quarry Drive; some of the stops, including product support solutions and compact construction equipment were manned by a subject matter expert who explained details and answered the students’ questions. Next the visitors toured the power systems building, where they were met by a subject matter expert who showed them on-highway trucks, marine engines and the electric power generation side of the business.

“The last stop on the facilities tour was the company’s new training center, which offers a concrete and powerful testimony to the company’s commitment to training and development,” Barton said.

From there, students had the chance to operate equipment of all varieties

“Needless to say, that was one of the event’s highlights, followed by the chance to meet service technicians who were on hand to talk to our young visitors and tell them more about the realities of their work.”

Milton CAT sees a serious, industry-wide need for skilled workers, and this type of open house demonstrates the company’s commitment to the career path, future growth, professional training and development for technicians through their partnerships with vocational technical high schools and colleges, according to Barton.

And the result? In one visitor’s own words, “I greatly appreciated the opportunity to tour the Milton CAT facilities. Meeting and talking with the people who work there, and hearing their amazing stories. Today was a great learning experience for me. I definitely feel that this is the career I would love to take part in. Thank you again for the opportunity to learn from the employees on how they got to where they are today. I hope to take a similar route.”

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