By Tanner Brown
A delegation of students and instructors from Friendswood High School met with their elected officials in Washington, D.C. on September 26, 2023. SkillsUSA district officers Tanner Brown, Teigan Poston, and Jessica Voiers, and their advisors Jon Hall and Al Tag, met with the staffs of Senator John Cornyn and Representative Randy Weber to talk about how SkillsUSA and their career and technical education (CTE) programs have prepared them to be college- and career-ready.
The four-day SkillsUSA Washington Leadership Training Institute conference provided students an opportunity to grow in their professionalism, communication and leadership skills, which they apply during their visits to Congress. The conference focused on advanced communications skills including development of a SkillsUSA Framework story to share during their visits with elected officials.
About SkillsUSA
SkillsUSA is America’s proud champion of the skilled trades. It’s a student-led partnership of education and industry that’s building the skilled workforce our nation depends on with graduates who are career ready, day one. Representing nearly 380,000 career and technical education students and teachers, SkillsUSA chapters thrive in middle schools, high schools and college/postsecondary institutions nationwide. SkillsUSA’s mission empowers students to become skilled professionals, career-ready leaders and responsible community members.
That mission is accomplished through the SkillsUSA Framework of Personal Skills, Workplace Skills and Technical Skills Grounded in Academics, which is integrated into the classroom curriculum. Through Framework instruction, students develop the character-shaping leadership skills — teamwork, communication, professionalism and more — that successful careers and lives demand.
At the same time, students hone their high-level technical skills against current industry standards in more than 130 skilled trade areas, from 3-D Animation to Welding. The result? Focused, confident and highly skilled graduates who are ready to work, ready to lead and ready to make a difference in our schools, workplaces and communities. A vital solution to the skills gap, where more in-demand skilled trades positions are available than qualified professionals to fill them, SkillsUSA has served over 14 million difference-making members since 1965. To learn more, visit www.skillsusa.org.
