Students and faculty at Ozarks Technical Community College will join others across the nation to celebrate SkillsUSA Week, Feb. 3-9, 2019. The annual celebration represents over 300,000 SkillsUSA members nationwide and promotes career and technical education (CTE).
The week highlights the benefits of the SkillsUSA program in developing personal, workplace and technical skills grounded in academics. It also provides schools with an opportunity to demonstrate how CTE helps prepare local students for college and high-wage, high-demand career fields. More than 4,000 SkillsUSA schools are expected to participate this year.
“The activities planned over the next month will illustrate the rigor and relevance CTE courses offer our students,” said Kelli Akers, director of the OTC Career Center. “By partnering with the business community, CTE programs are investing in students and providing them with the latest technology and skills that will prepare them to become successful employees and future leaders.”
SkillsUSA Week activities nationwide include presentations to administrators, business leaders and legislators; school tours and open houses; service events that benefit local charities and organizations; interviews with the news media; student-led rallies and campus outreach; and industry partnership development.
At OTC, more than 100 career and technical education students will participate in the SkillsUSA district competition Wednesday, Feb. 6. Students will work against the clock and each other to prove their expertise in occupations such as computer-aided drafting, precision machining, medical assisting and culinary arts. District winners will be eligible to advance to the SkillsUSA state competition in April.
“SkillsUSA Week is a time for us to spread the positive message of our organization and bolster support for local programs that define student excellence. The reach of SkillsUSA is of utmost importance as we work toward our goal of graduating 100,000 SkillsUSA students each year who are workforce-ready on Day One of their job,” said SkillsUSA Executive Director Timothy Lawrence. “This is one of the most important weeks of the year.”
SkillsUSA Week is held the second full week of February each year in conjunction with Career and Technical Education Month.