SGTC CAT student finishes second in national competition

Peoria, IL – South Georgia Technical College Heavy Equipment Dealer Service Technology’s Joshua McCann of St. Simons Island, captured second place in Caterpillar’s annual ThinkBIG Tech Challenge held recently in Peoria, Illinois.  He earned the right to compete in the international Dealer Top Apprentice competition in Melbourne, Australia, in February 2025.

   ThinkBIG is a Caterpillar specific instructional program that pays students while they train to become a technician.  Once they are accepted into this two-year program, students alternate between labs and classroom work, and a paid internship at a sponsoring CAT dealership.  Upon graduation, students will have earned an accredited associate degree backed up with over 2,000 hours of work experience.

Joshua McCann is shown above with his plaque.

   Seven of Caterpillar’s ThinkBIG students from programs across the United States earned the right to compete in the ThinkBIG Tech Challenge.  These students navigated through eight tech Olympic competition stations, as well as made a presentation to determine the top ThinkBIG technicians in the country. At the conclusion of the competition, there were only 76 (out of 800 total) points that separated first through seventh place.  The top four finishers were separated by only 40 points.

   McCann is a member of the South Georgia Technical College 2023 Heavy Equipment Dealer Service Technology class, also known as Caterpillar’s ThinkBIG program.  He is a field service technician with Yancey Bros in their Brunswick, Georgia, location.

   This competition tests and honors the skills of young technicians.  The apprentices participate in presentations and guest speaker panels while being scored through knowledge assessments and a series of skills tests involving different types of machinery and customer service.

   McCann was accompanied to the competition by his mentor, Morris Freeman, as well as SGTC Heavy Equipment Dealer Service Technology Instructor Donald Rountree. His second-place finish in the competition qualified him to compete in Caterpillar’s International Dealer Top Apprentice competition in Melbourne, Australia, in February of 2025.

   Compared to the traditional approach of college education before employment, ThinkBIG gives students the opportunity to gain valuable on-the-job experience from the beginning of the program.  This interactive approach to development helps build future career opportunities.

   Graduates of the program continue on as highly skilled members of the Caterpillar Dealer Service family, enjoying a great salary, exceptional benefits, flexible work schedules and long-term job security.  As CAT dealer technicians, individuals find opportunities to expand their careers in customer service management, sales, product support, digital solutions or many other opportunities.

   For more information about the SGTC Heavy Equipment Dealer Service Technology associate degree program and the Caterpillar ThinkBIG program visit www.southgatech.edu or contact SGTC Instructor Don Rountree, drountree@southgatech.edu or SGTC admissions Director Candie Walters at cwalters@southgatech.edu.