Students from Virginia high school and college technical education programs won the nation’s highest awards at the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference. Industry leaders representing over 1,100 businesses, corporations, trade associations and unions recognized the students for their demonstrated excellence in 94 hands-on occupational and leadership contests, such as robotics, criminal justice, aviation maintenance and public speaking. All contests are designed, run and judged by industry using industry standards. The SkillsUSA Championships have been a premier event since 1967.

Top student winners received gold, silver and bronze medallions. Many also received prizes such as tools of their trade and/or scholarships to further their careers and education.  The SkillsUSA Championships is for high school and college-level students who are members of SkillsUSA.

In addition, for the fifth year, high scorers in the contests received Skill Point Certificates.  The Skill Point Certificate was awarded in 86 occupational and leadership areas to students who achieved a high score defined by industry. The Skill Point Certificates were introduced in 2007 as a component of the SkillsUSA Work Force Ready System.

The following students are Skill Point Certificate recipients from your
area:

* Team E (consisting of ZACH HODGES, DUSTIN CALDWELL, COLTON HOSTETTER, Patrick McSherry), from Burton Center for Arts & Technology (Salem), was awarded a Skill Point Certificate inTeamWorks.
* Team B (consisting of SIOBHAN REA, HANNAH KINDER, Jessica Astacio), from Burton Center for Arts & Technology (Salem), was awarded a Skill Point Certificate in TechPrep-Law,Public Safety & Security.
* Christopher Christensen, from Troutville and a student at Botetourt Tech Educational Center (Fincastle), was awarded a Skill Point Certificate in Pin Design.

“Over 5,600 students from every state in the nation came to compete in the SkillsUSA Championships this week,” said SkillsUSA executive director Tim Lawrence. “This is the SkillsUSA partnership at its best. Students, instructors and industries are working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce and every student excels. These students prove that career and technical education expands opportunities.”

According to Lawrence, recent survey data says that 75 percent of these students will go on to higher education. Included in that number are 40 percent who will be attending college and working at the same time. Of those graduating from school, 76 percent plan to work in the field for which they’ve trained.

“They’re the employees industry wants to hire and promote,” Lawrence said.

Industry support of the SkillsUSA Championships is valued at over $35 million in donated time, equipment, cash and material. All contests are run and judged by industry experts using industry standards for employment. Contests assess hands-on, employability and academic skills.
Over 1,700 industry judges and technical committee members participated this year.

The SkillsUSA Work Force Ready System was developed as an extension of the SkillsUSA mission and supported by a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The System recognizes students for excellence in occupational training; it assesses and documents the entry-level technical proficiency and cumulative experiences of candidates. For more information about the SkillsUSA Work Force Ready System, visit www.workforcereadysystem.com.

SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers and industry working together to ensure America has a skilled work force. SkillsUSA serves more than 300,000 students and instructors annually and has served more than
10.5 million members since it’s founding in 1965. The organization has more than 17,000 sections and 54 state and territorial associations. For more information, visit www.skillsusa.org.