For the second year,
Forbes magazine has ranked the nation’s top two-year trade schools, in a list of technical and career colleges with high-earning alumni, stand-out graduation and retention rates, and respectable debt repayment scores. The 25 schools on the list cover a variety of careers in high-paying, high-growth areas, such as aircraft maintenance, funeral services, dental hygiene and drafting.
During the 2017-18 school year, there was a
SkillsUSA chapter in place at 15 of
Forbes’ top 25 schools. The chapters are:
- North Central Kansas Technical College (Kan.)
- State Technical College of Missouri (Mo.)
- Lake Area Technical Institute (S.D.)
- Lancaster County Career and Technology Center (Pa.)
- Mitchell Technical Institute (S.D.)
- Salina Area Technical College (Kan.)
- Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology (Pa.)
- Northwest Iowa Community College (Iowa)
- North Dakota State College of Science (N.D.)
- Lakeside Technical College (Wis.)
- Northwest Louisiana Technical College (La.)
- Bates Technical College (Wash.)
- Moraine Park Technical College (Wis.)
- Manhattan Area Technical College (Kan.)
- Dakota Area Technical College (Minn.)
SkillsUSA’s good friend Mike Rowe also shared the new
Forbes list on his Facebook page. “Two years ago, I made a short video that criticized national publications for ranking America’s top four-year colleges and universities while completely ignoring two-year trade schools,” Rowe said. “It really is an outrageous oversight that reinforces the stubborn belief that some forms of education are more important than others. To their credit,
Forbes magazine acknowledged the bias, and dedicated a whole issue to ranking the best trade schools in the country. This is their second annual issue, and my second opportunity to congratulate them for doing what their competitors have not. Nice job,
Forbes.”
To see the
Forbes article, go here:
https://bit.ly/2MErVWF
To see Mike Rowe’s full post, here is the link:
www.facebook.com/TheRealMikeRowe/
October 06, 2025
SkillsUSA has selected James Cahill of Saint James, Missouri, as the official U.S. competitor for Automobile Technology for the 2026 WorldSkills Competition. This prestigious international skills competition, often referred to as the “Olympics of skilled trades,” will be held Sept. 22-27, 2026, in Shanghai, China.
September 19, 2025
SkillsUSA has partnered with Aerotek, a leading staffing and services provider in the manufacturing, logistics, construction, aviation and facility management industries, to provide “Make Your Mark” scholarships to SkillsUSA members toward tuition for the spring 2026 semester.
