Skills USA Competition and Winners: Trade School Students Present and Future!

Filed under Criminal Justice Trades, Trade Organizations, Trades Related Events

In Kansas City, they were sweating.

“You know what’s happening in my stomach right now?” area trade school instructor and coach H.R. Thomas asked. “If you were in there, you’d be screaming to get out.”

The convention in Kentucky has grown every year, so much that Skills USA has decided to move the venue to Louisville from its current Kansas City location. The convention is the largest of its kind in the area, drawing nearly 10,000 registrants.

All across the country, Skills USA held weeklong competitions.

Meanwhile in Georgia, trade school students were cheering

One of the toughest competitions had to be in criminal justice. Roswell, GA’s Holly Groover from Centennial High School took home the high school gold. Meanwhile, post-secondary web design gold was won by Illinois Central College.

Don Roberts of the Excelsior Springs Area Career Center said SkillsUSA “teaches leadership abilities, how to work within a team with others, and how to compete. We have kids who come to us who won’t look you in the eye and will barely speak to you. After they’ve been through this program, they develop confidence and ability, and some will become leaders of the school.”

Thomas agreed: “I’ve had students come back five years later and tell me they got their job because they had SkillsUSA on their resume, and the other applicants didn’t.”