- The final membership report for the 2012-13 school year is now complete (335,975 total) and is located at http://www.skillsusa.org/downloads/PDF/membershipreport13.pdf.
- On April 16-17, the SkillsUSA Youth Development Foundation (YDF) met at the National Leadership Center. The meeting was very well attended and was one of the most interactive on record. The meeting started with a review of the FY14 Strategic Plan. Chairman Dave Camden and our Business Partnerships and Development staff then led the Foundation through a series of exercises to help SkillsUSA with strategy to move our partnerships efforts forward. Dave Camden has now retired from Toyota, and this was his final YDF meeting. We are very pleased and excited that Laurie Hackett of Air Products will be assuming the position of YDF chair.
- Staff recently attended a meeting in New Orleans of the Workforce Development Committee of the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER). The NCCER desires to work with SkillsUSA on a “Skills to Industry Recruitment Alliance” that will engage NCCER commercial and industrial construction contractors and NCCER’s Build Your Future (BYF) program in a database development and mentoring tactic to supply more construction tradecraft workers. The industrial and commercial construction industry has major concerns with the tradecraft worker supply, especially now that the energy sector is growing quickly. NCCER is a major supporter of the national Carpentry contest. Staff also stopped by the SkillsUSA Louisiana Awards Ceremony and briefly addressed the audience.
- Staff members recently participated in a conference call with the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) about becoming involved in the Mechatronics contest and a possible demonstration contest in 2014 in Additive Manufacturing. SME has recently projected that for every baccalaureate engineer, our economy needs seven engineering technicians.
- On April 10, staff attended a meeting of the National Council of Career and Technology Student Organizations (NCC-CTSO). SkillsUSA will be helping NCC-CTSO create a common website that promotes CTSO missions and membership and provides shared elements of all nine CTSOs.
- Staff members attended the Missouri state conference, the Kentucky state conference, the Texas high school state conference, the South Carolina state conference and the New York state conference.
- Staff members also traveled to Louisville for NLSC 2015 planning and attended the Equipment and Engine Training Council (EETC) annual conference in Bloomington, Minn.
Highlights
May 1st, 2013Alumni Membership Incentive
February 12th, 2013
The Alumni Coordinating Committee is offering an incentive for SkillsUSA advisors who sign up alumni from their chapters. For every five members an advisor registers with the SkillsUSA Alumni & Friends Association, he or she will be entered into a drawing for a $100 Lowe’s gift card.
To be officially entered into the drawing, the advisor must have students register online at: www.skillsusa.org/supporters/alumnijoin.shtml. (Paper forms will not be accepted.) The advisor must then send an email to Byekwaso Gilbert at bgilbert@skillsusa.org. The email must contain all of the following:
- the advisor’s name, school, address, phone and email (make sure what you provide will be accessible to you after June 1)
- a list (for verification) of the students (first and last names) who registered as alumni
Remember that graduating seniors qualify to register during their senior year. Former SkillsUSA students are also eligible, provided they are not members already. These students must register through their former advisor to be counted as part of that advisor’s entry. Students may only register once. Deadline for entry into the drawing is June 1.
Chapter Management Webinars – Mark your calendar!
November 15th, 2012Looking for ways to engage more members in SkillsUSA activities and programs? Need ideas on membership recruitment? Need a place to turn to for help on everything SkillsUSA related? Join us for the next Chapter Management Webinar series:
- Membership Recruitment and Engagement
- Electing Chapter Officers
- Program of Work Planning and Implementation
Create a wonderful year in SkillsUSA by joining these 30-minute informational webinars that cover best practices developed from SkillsUSA advisors.
The join links, phone numbers and passcodes are listed below and the information is also online at: www.skillsusa-register.org.
Tuesday, December 4 -11 a.m. – Electing Chapter Officers
https://www.yourcall.com/webecho/GuestLogin.aspx
Call Toll Free: 1-888-537-7715 Passcode: 33692574 #
Tuesday, December 4 – 3:30 p.m. – Program of Work Planning
https://www.yourcall.com/webecho/GuestLogin.aspx
Call Toll Free: 1-888-537-7715 Passcode: 33692574 #
Tuesday, December 4 – 6 p.m. – Membership Recruitment and Engagement
https://www.yourcall.com/webecho/GuestLogin.aspx?ConfRef=46844558&Pin=5892
Call Toll Free: 1-888-537-7715 Passcode: 86453585 #
Learning from Our Membership
November 1st, 2012Recently, members of the Membership, Marketing and Sales team traveled to Rhode Island and Massachusetts to meet with students, teachers and administrators for informal focus groups to gather data about SkillsUSA’s customers.
This effort is a kick-off to an additional five-state formal focus group planned for late fall and winter. Research will be conducted with both high school and college/postsecondary customers with a formal report to be compiled next spring.
This effort aligns with a key objective for the organization in the upcoming year to better understand the needs of SkillsUSA professional and student members. SkillsUSA is working to define the status of our integration into local career and technical classrooms. To help meet this objective, profiles of SkillsUSA advisors will be developed which will enable staff to better understand the needs and issues facing SkillsUSA as they integrate SkillsUSA into instruction. Additional data is also needed on why students join SkillsUSA and become engaged in the organization and what local chapter operations currently exist.
The research will drive future products and programming designed to meet the needs of our current and future customers. This will also help provide additional revenue sources for the organization to sustain operations and grow programming. Thanks to state association directors Karen Ward and Josh Klemp for hosting our team during their visits in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
SkillsUSA Advisor Webinar Reminder
October 15th, 2012The 2012-2013 SkillsUSA membership kit is loaded with new resources, best practices and lesson plans to ensure your chapter is prepared for a successful year. Please join us on Thursday, October 18 at 11 a.m. or 3:30 p.m. (EDT) as we discuss the many uses of the information and resources included in the kit. The new registration landing page will be unveiled and the easy to use 1, 2, 3 step system for membership registration.
SkillsUSA Advisor Webinar
Thursday, October 18, 2012 at 11 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. EDT
Webinar URL: https://www.yourcall.com/webecho/GuestLogin.aspx
Meeting Number: 30039980
Participant Passcode: 5787
SkillsUSA Advisor Membership Incentives
August 31st, 2012When advisors register at least 15 student members plus one or more professionals by November 15, 2012, they will receive a free copy of Accelerate – Effective Strategies to Enrich Student Learning (value: $10). This brand new resource from the SkillsUSA Educational Resources Catalog discusses adding relevance and retention to student learning. The book is designed to do just that with a philosophy centered on “learning by doing.” With more than 40 teaching strategies that enhance classroom instruction, Accelerate is a compilation of interactive and student-centered activities that apply content in a practical yet effective manner. Activities are organized so you can quickly locate what you need with descriptions, instructions, closure and integration suggestions, and variations to strategy.
Also, instructors who submit a roster with 100-percent membership plus one or more professionals also will receive a SkillsUSA Program of Work calendar (value: $5.95).
Remember, the membership roster must be submitted online by November 15th to receive these free items.
Membership Kits for 2012-13
August 15th, 2012The 2012-13 SkillsUSA membership kits have been mailed to all chapters that affiliated with SkillsUSA last year. Extra kits have been mailed to all state offices. Please read “What’s New” on page 5. The kit includes: a poster, educational resources, tools for recruitment, retention and alumni, lesson plans, enrollment instructions, programs, scholarship and recognition opportunities, membership cards, and information on products.
This year’s membership incentive is the book, “Accelerate,” for all chapters that register 15 or more students plus one professional, by November 15 – the full services deadline. In addition, instructors with 100 percent membership with one or more professional members will also receive a SkillsUSA Program of Work Calendar. All this information is listed on page 61 under “Member Benefits” of the membership kit.
Highlights
May 14th, 2012- The official membership number is 330,703. That’s 10,416 more members than last year! Official membership includes students, instructors, alumni and honorary life members. It is now available for download at: www.skillsusa.org/downloads/PDF/membershipreport.pdf.
- Another record was broken a couple of weeks ago. We not only surpassed the total number of Skill Connect Assessments sold all of last year, we’re already 13 percent over that total, and there is still more testing season ahead.
Alumni Membership Incentives Reminder
May 13th, 2012The Alumni Coordinating Committee is offering two incentives this year. One is for SkillsUSA advisors who sign up alumni from their chapters and the second for students who join alumni. For every five members an advisor gets to join the SkillsUSA Alumni & Friends Association, he or she will be entered into a drawing for a VISA gift card. For each student who joins the Alumni & Friends Association, he or she will be entered into a drawing for a VISA gift card.
To be officially entered into the drawing, the advisor must have students register and join online at: www.skillsusa.org/supporters/alumni.shtml. The advisor must then send an email to Niki Clausen at nclausen@skillsusa.org. The email must contain the advisor’s name, school and state, and a list (for verification) of the students (first and last names) who joined as alumni. Remember that graduating seniors qualify to join during their senior year. Former SkillsUSA students are also eligible, provided they are not members already. These students must register through their former advisor to be counted as part of that advisor’s entry. Students who join are automatically entered into the drawing. Students may only join once.
Deadline for entry into the drawing is June 1. Contact Niki Clausen at 703-737-0639 or via email, if you have questions.
Highlights
March 31st, 2012- We can hit the membership gong! We have surpassed last year’s membership total. As of yesterday, membership is 302,720. That’s 1,337 ahead of last year and some memberships are still coming into the office. Twenty-six state associations have now exceeded last year’s totals. The most recent is Wisconsin Postsecondary Division, Dale Drees, state association director.
- The Louisiana Community and Technical College System (CTCS) has appointed a state association director, Jawan Ross, and is moving forward to reinstitute the SkillsUSA Louisiana College/Postsecondary Association. The association has been dormant for a year. Jawan was here in the national office on March 16 for some condensed and intense state director training. SkillsUSA welcomes Louisiana postsecondary back, and we’re pleased to hear the LCTCS director is talking about growing the association next year.
- State conferences are underway. The SkillsUSA Georgia conference was a webcast over two days. Representative Jim Langevin, co-chair of the CTE Caucus spoke during the Rhode Island conference. Among his remarks to the students: “SkillsUSA students are the future innovators and job creators for our country.” That’s a nice message to carry. Staff will be visiting 20 state spring conferences.
- On March 5, Bob Daly, senior vice president of Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. stopped by the national office for a visit and to discuss opportunities to grow our partnership. Bob is also looking into ways Toyota and Toyota dealers can help support the CTSOs in California.
- On March 6, I was part of a panel discussion during the ACTE Policy and Planning Seminar in Washington. The topic was Measuring Career Readiness Skills: Existing Practice, New Developments and the Challenges That Remain. The concern is finding or developing assessments that are more “career ready” inclusive. Of course, I was able to say during my remarks that SkillsUSA has been teaching and assessing employability skills since 1965 and I spoke about the Skill Connect Assessments and the Professional Development Program. My presentation was well received. Johan Uvin, deputy assistant secretary of OVAE gave a presentation entitled “Perkins Act Preview: Obama Administration.” Uvin said the administration wants to “further improve CTE.” The focus seems to still be on improving postsecondary degree attainment with “at least one year of postsecondary education.” He went on to say OVAE has developed a blueprint for reform, but hasn’t released it yet and that the administration has chosen 2013 for Perkins reauthorization. There will be three major statutory reforms: strengthen alignment of high schools, postsecondary and employers; better accountability systems; and, competitive funding to promote innovation and state reform. Questions from the audience were direct and tough on all three areas, particularly on the competitive funding and Uvin’s assertion that CTE didn’t have data to back up its claims of success.
- I was the keynote speaker at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College/Caper Educator Institute’s “Education Challenge: Career and College Readiness” forum in Henrico, Virginia on March 14. My topic was “Schools Excel Through Student Leadership: Encourage, Promote and Prepare Student Leaders.” There were 210 administrators in attendance, and there was discussion about what it means to be career and college ready. I guess the speech went over well. I gave away all of my business cards.
- We secured a Google Grant for advertising on the Google website. When certain keywords are searched, our ads will appear at the top and in the column on the right of the page. The ads started running on a March 13, and by March 14, SkillsUSA had already received 40,000 impressions.
- And, I attended two outstanding state conferences in the past two weeks – Texas high school and Arizona. More details on these and others next time.
