It’s SkillsUSA Competition Season!

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• February 9th, 2022
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It’s SkillsUSA Competition Season!

It’s a fun and exciting time of year…it’s SkillsUSA competition season!

SkillsUSA is a national career and technical student organization (CTSO) which serves over 300,000 students and teachers by helping students prepare for the workforce.

Mission Statement: SkillsUSA empowers its members to become world-class workers, leaders and responsible American citizens. We improve the quality of our nation’s future skilled workforce through the development of SkillsUSA Framework skills that include personal, workplace and technical skills grounded in academics. Our vision is to produce the most highly skilled workforce in the world, providing every member the opportunity for career success. (Source/Learn more here.)

SkillsUSA students compete in live contests to test their technical and leadership skills. There are nearly 100 different contests for the students related to many different careers, industries, and skills. Directly relevant to our industry, students can compete in the Cabinetmaking contest. Students begin by competing regionally, or locally, within their state, and then they can advance to the State Championships. Those who earn the highest scores at the state level advance to the National Leadership and Skills Conference.

We encourage you to check out your state SkillsUSA organization and it’s annual conference, and connect with SkillsUSA chapters (school programs) in your area. These are programs and students who are already engaged and learning about careers in wood, they welcome your participation and support as industry professionals and companies!

How to learn more:

— Google SkillsUSA + your state’s name – each state has their own SkillsUSA organization. Many states run the Cabinetmaking competition, but some do not. There are many other contests that help students develop their workforce skills and prepare them for the world of work. There are also many other ways for industry to get involved in SkillsUSA beyond the skill contests. Reach out and get to know your state organization, ask where their state conference take place (usually in March-April), and how you can attend or participate. *NOTE: due to COVID, some state conferences may be virtual or have different attendance policies this year.

— Follow the national Cabinetmaking Contest Facebook page (run by the AWI Technical Committee): see pictures and connect with the national team who organizes this competition.

— Attend the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference (NLSC): (June 20-24, Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, GA) This is the ultimate annual SkillsUSA event – if you are just learning about SkillsUSA, start here if you can! It provides an excellent perspective of the scope and energy of the organization. It’s also a great way to see the impressive live competitions in action and network with leading educators, administrators, and students from across the country.

— Find your SkillsUSA state director here, reach out to them, and find out how you can connect and help out in your state or with local chapters (school programs) in your area.

— See the Cabinetmaking contest technical standards – This document guides the development of the contest project and outlines how the students should prepare and what skills will be assessed.

— See some examples of Cabinetmaking competition project plans: The competition projects are developed by industry volunteers and are intended to showcase fundamental woodworking skills and current industry practices. This is a library of the projects developed for the SkillsUSA California state and regional contests.

 

Questions/comments? Contact Adria@awfs.org. Also, if you are currently involved in SkillsUSA, we’d love to hear from you and highlight your story!