Staff Reports news@times-journal.com
ATLANTA -- Career and technical students in your area were recognized at the 2024 SkillsUSA Championships, held in Atlanta, on June 26-27. More than 6,000 students competed at the national showcase of career and technical education. The SkillsUSA Championships is the largest skill competition in the world and covers 1.79 million square feet, equivalent to 31 football fields or 41 acres.
Students from Fort Payne High School, DeKalb County Technology Center and Northeast Alabama Community College were among the highest achievers.
Students were invited to the event to demonstrate their technical skills, workplace skills and personal skills in 115 hands-on occupational and leadership competitions including robotics, automotive technology, drafting, criminal justice, aviation maintenance and public speaking. Industry leaders from 850 businesses, corporations, trade associations and unions planned and evaluated the contestants against their standards for entry-level workers. Industry support of the SkillsUSA Championships is valued at over $36 million in donated time, equipment, cash and material. More than 1,200 industry judges and technical committee members participated this year.
All SkillsUSA Championships competitors were honored on Friday night, June 28 at the closing SkillsUSA Awards Session at State Farm Arena. As an indicator of proficiency, Skill Point Certificates were awarded to all national contestants who met a predetermined threshold contest score for their SkillsUSA event, demonstrating workplace readiness. Students can add this certificate to an employment portfolio.
The following students are Skill Point Certificate recipients:
* Team J (consisting of Preston Hunt, Tristan H. Thomas), from Fort Payne High School (Fort Payne), was awarded a Skill Point Certificate in Commercial sUAS Drone.
* Anna Massey, from Flat Rock and a student at DeKalb County Technology Center (Rainsville), was awarded a Skill Point Certificate in Medical Math.
* Kassidy Cunningham, from Hollywood and a student at Northeast Alabama Community College (Rainsville), was awarded a Skill Point Certificate in Cosmetology.
* Samineyen Blount, from Gadsden and a student at DeKalb County Technology Center (Rainsville), was awarded a Skill Point Certificate in Basic Health Care Skills.
In addition to those honors for DeKalb area students, Christy Powell, from Fyffe and a student at Northeast Alabama Community College (Rainsville), won one of the nation’s highest awards at the championships. She was awarded the college gold medal in Medical Terminology.
"More than 6,000 students from every state in the nation participated in the 2024 SkillsUSA Championships," said SkillsUSA Executive Director Chelle Travis. "This showcase of career and technical education demonstrates SkillsUSA at its finest. Our students, instructors and industry partners work together to ensure that every student excels. This program expands learning and career opportunities for our members."
The SkillsUSA Championships event is held annually for students in middle school, high school or college/postsecondary programs as part of the SkillsUSA National Leadership & Skills Conference. The national, nonprofit partnership of students, instructors and industry is a verified talent pipeline for America's skilled workforce that is working to help solve the skills gap.
About SkillsUSA
SkillsUSA is America's proud champion of the skilled trades. It's a student-led partnership of education and industry that's building the skilled workforce our nation depends on with graduates who are career ready, day one. Representing nearly 380,000 career and technical education students and teachers, SkillsUSA chapters thrive in middle schools, high schools and college/postsecondary institutions nationwide. SkillsUSA's mission empowers students to become skilled professionals, career-ready leaders and responsible community members. That mission is accomplished through the SkillsUSA Framework of Personal Skills, Workplace Skills and Technical Skills Grounded in Academics, which is integrated into the classroom curriculum. Through Framework instruction, students develop the character-shaping leadership skills - teamwork, communication, professionalism and more - that successful careers and lives demand. At the same time, students hone their high-level technical skills against current industry standards in more than 130 skilled trade areas, from 3-D Animation to Welding. The result? Focused, confident and highly skilled graduates who are ready to work, ready to lead and ready to make a difference in our schools, workplaces and communities. SkillsUSA has served more than 14 million difference-making members since 1965. To learn more, visit www.SkillsUSA.org.
