Skills USA

  • Sponsor:   Kristine Petrulis and Chris Juul

    Room:       3-006

     

    SkillsUSA is a national nonprofit organization serving teachers and high school and college students who are preparing for careers in trade, technical and skilled service occupations, including health occupations. It was formerly known as VICA (Vocational Industrial Clubs of America).

    Students at Tech High have a long and proud tradition of participation in Skills USA (formerly VICA) and have had multiple students win first and second place out of all schools in the United States.

    Membership: More than 300,000 students and instructors join SkillsUSA annually, organized into more than 17,000 sections and 54 state and territorial associations. SkillsUSA has served more than 9.9 million members since its founding.

    All students enrolled in CTE programs the entire year automatically have their
    membership paid.

    Mission: SkillsUSA is an applied method of instruction for preparing America’s high
    performance workers enrolled in public career and technical programs. It provides quality education experiences for students in leadership, teamwork, citizenship and character development. It builds and reinforces self-confidence, work attitudes and communications skills. It emphasizes total quality at work—high ethical standards, superior work skills, life-long education, and pride in the dignity of work. SkillsUSA also promotes understanding of the free-enterprise system and involvement in community service.

    Partners: Currently, 16,693 teachers and school administrators serve as professional
    SkillsUSA members and instructors. More than 1,100 business, industry and labor sponsors actively support SkillsUSA at the national level through financial aid, in-kind contributions, and involvement of their people in SkillsUSA activities. Many more work directly with state associations and local chapters.

    Programs: SkillsUSA programs include local, state and national competitions in which
    students demonstrate occupational and leadership skills. At the annual national-level
    SkillsUSA Championships, more than 5,400 students compete in 91 occupational and
    leadership skill areas.

    SkillsUSA programs also help to establish industry standards for job skill training in the lab and classroom, and promote community service. SkillsUSA is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and is cited as a “successful model of employer-driven youth development training program” by the U.S. Department of Labor and is an OSHA Alliance partner.