Career and technical students in Wisconsin won one of the nation’s highest awards at the 2019 SkillsUSA Championships, held in Louisville, Ky.
Among those who competed were David Broga and Carly Cooper, representing Elkhorn Area High School.
On June 26 and 27, more than 6,500 students competed at the national showcase of career and technical education. The SkillsUSA Championships is the largest skill competition in the world and covers 1.4 million square feet, equivalent to 20 football fields or 25 acres.
Students were invited to the event to demonstrate their technical skills, workplace skills and personal skills in 103 hands-on competitions including robotics, automotive technology, drafting, criminal justice, aviation maintenance and public speaking.
Industry leaders from 600 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 1,100 industry judges and technical committee members participated this year.
Skill Point Certificates were awarded in 72 occupational and leadership areas to students who met a threshold contest score defined by industry. The Skill Point Certificate is a component of SkillsUSA’s assessment program for career and technical education.
Broga and Cooper, both seniors at Elkhorn Area High School, received first place in their event. All first-place winners from each state are eligible to compete at SkillsUSA Nationals, which was June 25-28 in Louisville.
At the national level, Broga placed fourth in the nation in Related Technical Math and Cooper placed sixth in the nation in Job Skill Demonstration Open.
Broga took a 2-hour math test on Related Technical Math at both the State and National competitions.
Cooper played her guitar to demonstrate a job skill in Job Skill Demonstration Open. She placed in the top 11 in the first round at Nationals, which qualified her to move on to the second round.
At the second round, she placed sixth in the nation. Cooper is in a local band named WaxLips.
The Elkhorn Area High School SkillsUSA advisor is Fred Ganter.
The SkillsUSA National competitors also got to attend a Louisville Bats baseball game and a SkillsUSA Night at Kentucky Kingdom (an amusement park).
“More than 6,500 students from every state in the nation participated in the 2019 SkillsUSA Championships,” said SkillsUSA executive director Tim Lawrence. “This showcase of career and technical education demonstrates our SkillsUSA partnership 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 and Skills Conference.
More than 360,000 students and advisors join SkillsUSA annually, organized into more than 18,000 sections and 53 state and territorial associations. 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.
For more information visit skillsusa.org.
