SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers and industry representatives working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce. SkillsUSA helps each student to excel. SkillsUSA is a national organization serving teachers and high school and college students who are preparing for careers in technical, skilled and service occupations, including health occupations and for further education. SkillsUSA was formerly known as VICA (the Vocational Industrial Clubs of America).
WHAT IS
SKILLSUSA?
SkillsUSA serves more than 370,000 students and instructors annually. This includes 20,500 instructors who join as professional members. Including alumni, SkillsUSA membership totals over 434,000. SkillsUSA has served more than 13.6 million annual members cumulatively since 1965.
MEMBERSHIP
SkillsUSA empowers its members to become world-class workers, leaders and responsible American citizens. SkillsUSA improves the quality of our nation’s future skilled workforce through the development of Framework skills that include personal, workplace and technical skills grounded in academics.
MISSION
In 2019, more than 20,000 teachers and school administrators served as professional SkillsUSA members and advisors. Nearly 650 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.
PARTNERS
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 6,500 students compete in more than 100 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.
PROGRAMS