SkillsUSA competitions give students hands-on experience with career skills
The most effective way for students to learn career-ready skills in fields such as advanced manufacturing and robotics is by applying these skills in the context of authentic projects and real-world scenarios.
Key points:
- SkillsUSA competitions help students learn what employers will expect of them
- How CTE supports college and career readiness
- Online learning in high school helps students explore career pathways
- For more news on careers and CTE, visit eSN’s Innovative Teaching hub
The most effective way for students to learn career-ready skills in fields such as advanced manufacturing and robotics is by applying these skills in the context of authentic projects and real-world scenarios.
For 60 years, SkillsUSA has provided these types of hands-on learning opportunities for students in the form of regional, state, and national competitions–and participants in these contests have gained valuable career experience.
A nonprofit organization for career and technical education (CTE), SkillsUSA serves more than 413,000 middle school, high school, and college students and instructors nationwide. The organization is best known for its skills competitions that bring students together to network with industry professionals and test their abilities in more than 100 career fields.
When students take part in SkillsUSA competitions, they compete with students in the state based on technical standards created by industry leaders. They learn what’s expected of them from employers in their chosen field, and they see how well they measure up to their peers.
The winners of regional and state competitions are invited to compete in the national SkillsUSA Championships, the premier showcase of America’s most highly skilled CTE students. “It’s also one of the largest hands-on workforce development events in the world,” says SkillsUSA Senior Program Manager Tracy Whitehead.
Held each June, the SkillsUSA’s National Leadership & Skills Conference event features more than 6,500 state champions from across the United States competing head-to-head in 114 skill and leadership competitions.
“Business partners make it possible for us to achieve our mission of preparing students for career success,” Whitehead says. “Their support includes personnel, equipment, and in-kind donations that are essential to hosting these competitions.”
In the Robotics & Automation Technology competition, teams of two students lay out and program a robotic manufacturing production system in response to a given scenario. The project tests each team’s approach to problem solving within a simulated work environment, allowing students to display their skills in a valid, measurable format.
Each project requires students to use a variety of technical skills they would be required to demonstrate within an authentic workplace, including the use of robotics, programmable logic controllers (PLCs), sensors, and electrical systems.
The most recent RAT competition was described as follows: “This competition challenges two-person teams to demonstrate operation of a five-axis servo-robot along with a set of sensors and motorized devices to resolve a production process problem. Teams set up and demonstrate operation of a robotic workcell from a word problem. Competitors also utilize and program a Siemens LOGO PLC as part of the contest, as well as a Cognex vision camera. Competitors are required to create a flowchart and sequence of operation. Teams are also judged on efficiency, speed and teamwork.”
In the AMT competition, students manufacture a part for a fictitious company doing the CAD, CAM, and then actually milling the part on a CNC machine. The competition tests their technical skills as well as their ability to work as a team, manage their time, document their work, and deliver an accurately milled product.
A 2023 report from the Student Research Foundation shows that SkillsUSA members consistently outperform their peers not enrolled in a career and technical student organization (CTSO) in seven essential areas:
- Earning a license or certification related to their field of study
- Meeting potential employers
- Being excited about their chosen career
- Gaining work experience as a student
- Understanding the work environment
- Being excited about school
- Connecting school to the real world
For instance, 79 percent of SkillsUSA participants earned an industry license or certification in their chosen field, compared with 50 percent of CTE students who did not take part in a career and technical student organization. Eighty-three percent of SkillsUSA participants said they were excited about their chosen career, compared with 66 percent of non-CTSO students. Fifty-eight percent met potential employers, compared to 37 percent of non-CTSO students.
SkillsUSA competitions give CTE students real-world exposure to in-demand career skills, applied within authentic challenges and scenarios. They connect students with practicing industry professionals and help them gain hands-on experience that empowers them to excel in their chosen field.
“The employability and leadership skills–and just the motivation and the confidence you get from involvement with SkillsUSA–is amazing,” a former SkillsUSA participant is quoted as saying on the organization’s website. “It helped me to have a feeling of worth.”
The SkillsUSA NLSC competition is one of the most inspiring events I have ever attended. Seeing the thousands of students parading through the streets of Atlanta, proudly wearing their SkillsUSA uniforms, participating in competitions and events with pride, and encouraging their peers to succeed, is truly the oxygen that makes companies like ours not only come back year after year, but also gives us the motivation to do what we do all year long for CTE education.
