SkillsUSA: Competition, Networking, and Experience

By Cassidy Peterson
Staff writer
Email: thehutchinsoncollegian@gmail.com

SkillsUSA is a national organization that allows for students in technical training programs from middle school through post secondary education to compete against one another and network with local employers.

HutchCC has its own chapter that contains about 40 members and meets monthly. The students spend January to April practicing and honing their skills focusing on what they will need to know for their contests.

The state competition for SkillsUSA takes place in April on the HutchCC main campus and at the state fairgrounds. The competition contains many different categories including cosmetology, Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC), electrical, welding, automation, programming, and more. Each category competes in multiple rounds with different tasks being completed for each. These competitions are judged by local employers. Students that earn gold, silver, or bronze will advance to the national competition that takes place in Atlanta during the summer.

This organization is a way for students to showcase their capabilities and get to meet future employers. Students must dress in the proper attire and bring resumes with them to show professionalism and allow them the opportunity to get their names out there for future jobs.

Brian Baker, Lead Advisor of the HutchCC chapter of SkillsUSA, said, “It doesn’t matter even if you don’t medal, you’ve already at a competition level done more than 75% of the people in the field.”

Baker also said that several people over the years have been hired at a competition and paid more than what someone would normally make at entry level, because employers have already seen their skill level.

2024 Industrial Motor Controls Bronze medal winner, Kevin Rodriguez of Hutchinson, said that the competition was surprising as there were so many competitors, judges, and volunteers.

He also describes the atmosphere as intense, although he felt prepared as he had spent hours preparing for the competition.

Rodriguez said that after each part of the event a judge would look over the competitor’s work and give them feedback if there were issues. Overall, he conveys that the staff was helpful in preparing him for the event, and the sense of accomplishment after the competition was great.

“I would definitely recommend anyone that has the opportunity to get involved with SkillsUSA,” Rodriguez said.

Although the deadline has passed for joining SkillsUSA, Baker welcomes new members and would love to see the program grow in the upcoming year, as well.

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