Secretary of Education Tours SkillsUSA Championships in Louisville
Published: June 30, 2018
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos was in Louisville on June 28, touring the SkillsUSA Championships with Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin and Lt. Gov. Jenean Hampton.
SkillsUSA executive director Tim Lawrence hosted the walking tour of the national competition for the trio, who also met with students and business partners participating in the conference at the Kentucky Exposition Center.
“I know all of you in red blazers appreciate this gathering as an opportunity to share ideas, compete on the floor, take part in leadership workshops, network with peers and discuss ways to prepare all students for today’s and tomorrow’s careers,” said Secretary DeVos.
The 2018 conference included 102 contests to showcase a wide range of technical, service and health skills such as welding, culinary arts, cosmetology and nursing. The SkillsUSA Championships is the nation’s largest workforce development event for middle-school, high-school and college/postsecondary students enrolled in public career and technical education programs. With an estimated $36 million total value of industry-donated time, equipment, materials and prizes, the event is one of the largest single days of corporate volunteerism in America.
To hear the secretary’s reaction to seeing the SkillsUSA Championships, see below:
SkillsUSA is sending eight skilled competitors to Lyon, France on Sept. 10-15 to compete in seven events during the 47th biennial WorldSkills Competition.
SkillsUSA students have been elected as national officers to serve more than 400,000 members for the 2024-25 school year. The 14 high school and college/postsecondary students will serve as advocates for SkillsUSA and career and technical education (CTE) and will lead two national conferences, facilitate sessions for students and instructors and advocate on behalf of SkillsUSA to elected officials and representatives of business and industry as they represent the national organization at various events.
