SkillsUSA empowers its nearly 400,000 members to become world-class workers, leaders, and responsible American citizens through the development of personal, workplace, and technical skills grounded in academics.

Hannah Cockrell, Eryn Jordan, and Jacob Golding, of Augusta Technical College have won national ranking at the SkillsUSA Championships. Cockrell earned a bronze medal in the T-Shirt Design Contest, Jordan earned a bronze medal in the Screen Printing contest, and Golding earned his second national medal, this year earning a silver medal in the Graphic Communication contest.

The National SkillsUSA Championships took place on June 24-28, 2024, in Atlanta. The annual SkillsUSA conference was a showcase of career and technical education where more than 6,500 outstanding career and technical education students -- all state contest winners -- competed hands-on in 115 different trade, technical, and leadership fields. SkillsUSA is the #1 workforce development organization for students. SkillsUSA empowers students to become skilled professionals, career-ready leaders, and responsible community members. As America's proud champion of the skilled trades, SkillsUSA is a diverse, student-led organization building the future skilled workforce with graduates who are career ready, day one.

Cockrell, Jordan, and Golding are all Design and Media Production Technology students from Augusta Tech. "We are very proud of our students' accomplishments," said Sherrie Rowe, their SkillsUSA advisor. "By showing their dedication to excellence in occupational and leadership skills, these and the other students who participated in the SkillsUSA competition are true 'champions at work." Two of our other teams; commercial drones and graphic sublimation printing finished in 4th place, so close, but just out of the medals.

During the SkillsUSA competition, the students worked against the clock and each other, proving their expertise in occupations such as electronics, computer-aided drafting, precision machining, medical assisting, and culinary arts. All contests are run with the help of industry, trade associations, and labor organizations, testing competencies set by industry for entry-level workers in their field. In addition, leadership contestants demonstrated public speaking, extemporaneous speaking, conducting meetings by parliamentary procedure, and speed-round knowledge quiz bowls.

1,250 gold, silver, and bronze medals were presented to students on Friday night, June 28 at the SkillsUSA Awards Session at State Farm Arena. Many winners also received industry prizes, tools of their trade, or scholarships. The medalists and contestants who met a threshold contest score for their event as an indicator of proficiency also received a Skill Point Certificate representing workplace readiness in the student's occupational specialty. Students can add the certificate to an employment portfolio.

SkillsUSA is America's proud champion of the skilled trades. It's a student-led partnership of education and industry that's building the skilled workforce our nation depends on with graduates who are career ready, day one. Representing more than 400,000 career and technical education students and teachers, SkillsUSA chapters thrive in middle schools, high schools, and college/postsecondary institutions nationwide. SkillsUSA's mission empowers students to become skilled professionals, career-ready leaders, and responsible community members. That mission is accomplished through the SkillsUSA Framework of Personal Skills, Workplace Skills, and Technical Skills Grounded in Academics, which is integrated into the classroom curriculum. Through Framework instruction, students develop the character-shaping leadership skills -- teamwork, communication, professionalism, and more -- that successful careers and lives demand. At the same time, students hone their high-level technical skills against current industry standards in more than 115 skilled trade areas, from 3-D Animation to Welding. The result? Focused, confident, and highly skilled graduates who are ready to work, ready to lead, and ready to make a difference in our schools, workplaces, and communities. A vital solution to the skills gap, where more in-demand skilled trades positions are available than qualified professionals to fill them, SkillsUSA has served over 15 million difference-making members since 1965.