FDTC and CAT Dealer Academy celebrate new grads

Stephen Murphey speaks during the CAT Dealer Academy banquet. Photo by Samantha Lyles
By Samantha Lyles, Staff Writer, slyles@newsandpress.net
Florence-Darlington Technical College (FDTC) and the Caterpillar Dealer Academy celebrated the achievements of new program grads at a May 10 banquet held at the Country Club of South Carolina.
A cooperative two-year college level student technician education program, the Caterpillar Dealer Academy provides graduates with an Associate in Applied Science degree with a major in Caterpillar Service Technology. By teaming up with sponsoring Caterpillar dealers Blanchard Machinery of Columbia, Carolina CAT of Charlotte, and Gregory Poole of Raleigh, FDTC administers program activities and conducts classes in a dedicated campus facility. Since the Dealer Academy is exclusively by and for the sponsoring Caterpillar dealers, students are all but guaranteed immediate employment upon successful completion of the program. The program is accredited by Associated Equipment Distributors.
CAT Dealer Academy director and head instructor Stephen Murphey lauded the dedication of his students and noted that after graduation, they will proceed into solid, good paying careers – and also will provide area Caterpillar shops with skilled, reliable employees.
“It’s been an honor to have a group of young people that come into the program, and in two years they’ve transformed their lives potentially, and the opportunities that they give our shops are amazing,” said Murphey. “In a group of twenty graduates, you will generate on average $100 an hour of labor that will be sold in the workplace.”
Murphey estimated that over the next fiscal year, the FDTC Caterpillar Dealer Academy class of 2017 will generate over $3.3 million in labor.
“That’s a big number to take in, but don’t sell yourself short. We want you to live up to that Caterpillar name and take pride in your work and what you do,” said Murphey.
Florence-Darlington Technical College president Dr. Ben Dillard extended thanks to the sponsoring Caterpillar dealers, praising their initiative in teaming with Tech to educate students and cultivate their own supply of knowledgeable and prepared heavy equipment technicians.
“This program would not be possible without the support of our three dealers: Gregory Poole, Blanchard, and Carolina. With your support, it makes it possible to do what we do. The graduates and the college appreciate all you do to make this program such a success. How many other programs do you know of where students are supported so strongly by their employers in getting their education, in addition to having a job at the same time? In my opinion, it doesn’t get much better than that,” said Dillard.
CAT Dealer Academy students spend half of each semester at FDTC completing required technical and general education courses for the Associates of Applied Science Degree, and learning how diagnose and repair Caterpillar equipment. The balance of their schedule is spent on the job, working at a sponsoring dealership as a paid intern.
Reaching the finish line of the Caterpillar Dealer Academy brings tangible rewards: on completion of the program, students earn their degree, plus one year of Caterpillar dealer experience and a year’s wages from their sponsored internship. As service technicians, graduates will have opportunities for advanced professional accreditations to take their careers even further.
To learn more about the Caterpillar Dealer Academy, contact director Stephen B. Murphey at 843-661-8187 or email Stephen.Murphey@fdtc.edu, or instructor Jason Nelson at 843-661-8295 or email Jason.Nelson@fdtc.edu.