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Career and technical student organization

SkillsUSA is a United States career and technical student organization serving more than 395,000 high school, college and middle school students and professional members enrolled in training programs in trade, technical and skilled service occupations, including health occupations.

SkillsUSA was originally known as the Vocational Industrial Clubs of America (VICA). Prior to 1965, attempts at creation of national skill organizations failed. There was still a demand for skill and trade organizations, however. In 1960, the American Vocational Association (AVA) held a meeting, where a committee was formed to facilitate a solution. Representatives from the U. S. Office of Education and the National Association of State Supervisors of Trade and Industrial Education (NASSTIE – now known as the Association for Skilled and Technical Sciences – ASTS – http://www. astsonline. org) formed the committee. By 1962, the AVA encouraged the Office of Education to hire an employee to form the national organization. At the 1964 AVA convention, powerful leaders of industry and organizational leaders to include U. S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Secondary School Principals spoke in favor of the proposed organization. The constitution establishing the Vocational Industrial Clubs of America was adopted at the Trade and Industrial Youth Conference May 6–8, 1965 at the Hotel Andrew Jackson in Nashville, Tennessee. Representatives for 14 states, consisting of approximately 200 students, advisors, and business and labor representatives, gathered to choose the club's name, colors, motto, purposes and goals. The official red blazer, part of the organization's uniform, was patterned after the blazer from Illinois's organization. He continued in the position until 1987. By 1966, membership was up to 29,534, spanning 1,074 clubs across 26 states and territories. Additionally, the first issue of the club's magazine was produced. and is cited as a "successful model of employer driven youth development training program" by the U. S. Department of Labor.

The SkillsUSA Career Essentials suite, introduced in 2017, includes three parts. Career Essentials: Foundations, formerly called the Career Readiness Curriculum, includes 29 lesson plans based on Common Core State Standards. It infuses 21st century skills into student engagement activities. Career Essentials: Experiences replaces the Professional Development Program. The new online curriculum has 15 project based learning experiences; these provide real world context for the essential elements of the SkillsUSA Framework of developing personal, workplace and technical skills grounded in academics. The third component of the suite, Career Essentials: Assessments, previously known as Skill Connect Assessments, offers reliable evaluation of over 40 technical and employability areas. The assessments were originally developed through a grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. Student2Student Mentoring gives high school students a chance to mentor younger students. Jump into STEM! provides tools for high school students to mentor middle and elementary school students in skills and activities that may lead to career interests in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The National Leadership and Skills Conference is held annually. From 2015 2020, it was held in Louisville, KY. Starting in 2021, this conference moved to Atlanta, GA under a new six year contract. Most of the competitions are held at the Georgia World Congress Center. General sessions are held in State Farm Arena. The week long conference entails the competitions, SkillsUSA TECHSPO (the nation's largest trade show in trade and industrial education), a career fair, and SkillsUSA student government sessions. The SkillsUSA Championships is expected to bring in $30 million annually to Atlanta's economy. Students from the various state associations socialize and learn from one another during the week. Each state association has collectible pins that are often traded between students from various state associations. These pins are normally worn on the official SkillsUSA blazer. There are recreational activities scheduled during the conference week, including a SkillsUSA night at Kentucky Kingdom. The week culminates in the awards ceremony. The NLSC generally has a featured keynote speaker. There have been a number of noteworthy speakers, including Ronald Reagan, Chuck Yeager, and James Lovell. Students may participate in three types of contests: Leadership, Occupationally Related, and Skilled and Technical Sciences. Demonstration contests are added to determine interest. If interest is sufficient, demonstration contests can become official competitions and are added to one of the three categories.