Executive Update: December 15, 2021
Happy Holidays!
All of us at SkillsUSA hope you each have a wonderful holiday season and a safe, healthy and prosperous 2022. Please note that the SkillsUSA National Leadership Center will be closed for the holiday season from Dec. 20-31. The Executive Update will resume on Jan. 15, 2022.
New SkillsUSA TECHSPO and Sponsorships Senior Manager
We’re pleased to announce that Julie Dufour has joined the Office of Business Partnerships and Development as senior manager of SkillsUSA TECHSPO and Sponsorships. She brings over 10 years of large-scale event management experience and spent the last six years engaged in direct sponsorship program development and management. Julie’s areas of expertise include event planning and logistics, project management, sponsorship creation and fulfillment, and budget management. Julie holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in marketing. Please join us in welcoming Julie Dufour to the SkillsUSA team!
SkillsUSA Week T-shirt Design Challenge Winner
Congratulations to Ellis Eley from LaGrange (Ga.) High School for winning the 2022 SkillsUSA Week T-Shirt Design Challenge! Once the SkillsUSA Week shirts have gone live on The SkillsUSA Store, we’ll make an official announcement. Stay tuned!
Retired SkillsUSA Executive Director Honored
During this year’s Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) Vision Conference, SkillsUSA Executive Director Chelle Travis and board member Danny Camden presented retired executive director Tim Lawrence with the ACTE Trade and Industrial Division Lifetime Achievement Award. This award recognizes CTE professionals for their leadership on behalf of ACTE, their innovations in CTE and their contributions to the field over an extended period. Congratulations to Tim for his many years of dedication to SkillsUSA and career and technical education!
Applications Open to Facilitate National Student Programs
SkillsUSA is accepting applications for experienced independent contractors to serve as national program facilitators for SkillsUSA’s various student development conferences, workshops and virtual experiences. These include the SkillsUSA Connect to My Future Career Conference (virtual) in May 2022; Leverage and Activate in June 2022; the Delegates program in June 2022; and the Washington Leadership Training Institute in Sept. 2022. Successful applicants must have excellent interpersonal skills, writing skills, the ability to communicate persuasively and amiably with key stakeholders (including students, advisors and state SkillsUSA directors), and experience facilitating content (virtually and/or in-person) to groups ranging from five to 300. Applications are open through Jan. 3, 2022 and will remain on file to be pulled as new opportunities become available. Complete the application here. If you served as a SkillsUSA national facilitator within the past two years and completed the work in good standing, a new application does not need to be submitted.
Proposed Bylaw Amendment Motions Submissions
Current SkillsUSA members can submit proposed bylaw amendments for middle school, high school and college/postsecondary divisions. Bylaw amendment motions must be submitted in writing to Tyler Chaffin by Saturday, Jan. 22, at 5 p.m. ET. SkillsUSA’s National Executive Council and board of directors will review all submissions during the March 2021 board meeting. All motions will be distributed to state SkillsUSA directors no later than April 22. Motions will then be presented for vote at the official business meeting of the House of Delegates during the 2022 NLSC. Bylaw amendments are governed by Article XII of the high school and college/postsecondary bylaws and Article X of the middle school bylaws.
For more information and to view the bylaws, go here. The motion form is located here and on the website. For questions, contact Tyler Chaffin.
National Officer Candidates Sought
The 2022-23 National Officer Program Guide and application are now live on the website. All applications must be submitted by June 1 at 6 p.m. ET. Potential national officer candidates must have the following before applying: Verification of SkillsUSA Framework Certification, completing the e-course and all associated work, and passing the assessment with a minimum score of 80%; verification of the CTE Knowledge Certification, completing the e-course and all associated work, and passing the assessment with a minimum score of 80%; and verification of completion and passing of the first three units of either the Advanced or Adult Learner Course of the SkillsUSA Career Essentials program, including all work and unit tests, with a minimum score of 80%. Note: If the Career Essentials credential is not earned prior to election, national officers will be required to earn it during their year of service. Access to certifications and the Career Essentials is offered at no cost, with an application deadline of Feb. 1. Further details are available in the program guide.
First Segment of the NLSC Guide Now Available
State SkillsUSA Directors: Thanks to your input, our team now understands that you need more information about the National Leadership and Skills Conference, and you need it earlier than you typically receive it. We took your feedback and developed a plan to share the NLSC State Directors Guide in segments. You can access an early version of the 2022 SkillsUSA State Directors Guide here. The guide is provided each year to help state directors prepare for conference, and it covers many key topics. We will be adding more content and re-releasing the NLSC State Directors Guide again in March and in June. We hope this aids in your ability to make decisions and share timely information with your advisors and members. For questions, contact any SkillsUSA staff member.
2021-22 Advisor of the Year Resources Now Available
This year’s Advisor of the Year (AOY) information and resources are located on SkillsUSA CONNECT. There are two separate state director guides: one for state associations that will use the AOY section of the SkillsUSA Register site to collect and judge state-level AOY applications and the other for state associations that will select their AOY recipient using their own process/methods and then submit their state winner into the National AOY program. To access the information, log in to SkillsUSA CONNECT and go here. Look for additional information in the upcoming Weekly Roundup. The deadline for state directors to submit their state recipient is April 1. For questions, contact Taryn Erminio.
Interested in Mentoring a New State SkillsUSA Director?
State SkillsUSA directors can use their experience as state leaders to help others by mentoring a new state director. To participate, potential mentors are asked to complete a short application. You will then be sent a mentor guide to prepare you to serve and will be notified when there is a new state director identified as a match. Complete a mentor application here. For questions, contact Gayle Silvey.
Nominations Now Open for Honorary Life and Outstanding Career and Technical Educator Awards
If you would like to nominate an individual for recognition as a SkillsUSA Honorary Life Member or Outstanding Career and Technical Educator for recognition at national conference in June, please complete the online applications here. The deadline is Feb. 15. For questions, contact Laura Rauch.
Career Opportunities at SkillsUSA
SkillsUSA has several career opportunity openings in the Office of Business Partnerships and Development and the Office of Education. More information is available here.
Due Dates
January
Jan. 1: SkillsUSA Week Chapter Grant applications due
Jan. 3: Facilitator applications due
Jan. 21: Educational Resources and Career Essentials Grant applications due
Jan. 22: SkillsUSA Bylaw Amendment Motions submissions due
February
Feb. 1: Marsha Daves Memorial Scholarship applications due
Feb. 1: Free National Officer Career Essentials credential applications due
Feb. 15: SkillsUSA Honorary Life and Outstanding Career and Technical Educator Awards nominations due
March
March 1: SkillsUSA national membership deadline
March 1: #MasteroftheTrade Scholarship applications due.
March 1: National Youth Safety Video Contest entries due
April
April 1: President’s Volunteer Service Award applications due
April 1: Student2Student entries due
April 1: State director deadline to submit their state Advisor of the Year recipient
May
May 17: National Leadership and Skills Conference registration deadline
May 17: NLSC hotel reservations due
May 17: Activate, Leverage and Engage registration deadline
May 17: State association NLSC registration appointment request due
May 20: Confirm NLSC state hotel reservation block, if applicable
June
June 1: National Officer applications due
June 3: Payment for NLSC state delegation registration and ALE due
July
July 26: Student Research Foundation Scholarship applications due
