About SkillsUSA Rhode Island

 

SkillsUSA is America’s proud champion of the skilled trades. Our mission is to empower students to become skilled professionals, career-ready leaders and responsible community members.

 

SkillsUSA Motto

Preparing for leadership in the world of work.

SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers, and industry working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce. With the help of dedicated teachers, SkillsUSA RI reaches over six thousand of middle, high school, and college/postsecondary students. Each element of SkillsUSA programming is based upon a framework that illustrates the importance of personal, workplace, and technical skills grounded in academics.
SkillsUSA RI is a successful solution to America’s growing skills gap. Business and industry members recognize that individuals entering the workforce not only lack technical abilities, but also employability skills. SkillsUSA RI students gain the necessary tools that allow them to become exemplary individuals and employees.
In addition to emphasizing the importance of technical skills, we provide quality experiential learning opportunities for students in leadership, teamwork, citizenship, and character development. SkillsUSA RI emphasizes the belief in high ethical standards, superior work skills, life-long education, and pride in the dignity of work.

What it Does

  • Provides a common language for students to articulate what they gain from SkillsUSA participation to employers, administrators, parents and other students.
  • Assesses student skill development along a learning continuum of awareness, demonstration and mastery.
  • Creates a vision for SkillsUSA programs at the local, state, and national levels to ensure quality student-led experiences that build skills in all members.

SkillsUSA Framework

Why it Works

  • Empowers every student to achieve career success.
  • Delivers a skill set demanded in business and industry but lacking in many employees today.
  • Ensures that every student member receives a consistent and specific skill set.

Membership

SkillsUSA Rhode Island is the state’s largest career and technical student organization with over 3,000 members, representing 10 career and technical centers, 5 comprehensive high schools, 4 college/universities and 4 middle schools.

Nationally, more than 300,000 students and advisors join SkillsUSA annually, organized into more than 17,000 sections and 54 state and territorial associations.Combining alumni and lifetime membership, the total number impacted is more than 320,000.SkillsUSA has served more than 10.5 million members.

Partners

Each of our 66 competitive events are designed and judged by industry volunteers. Building SkillsUSA RI’s partnerships to more than 100 business, industry, and labor sponsors actively support SkillsUSA at the national level through financial aid, in-kind contributions, and involvement of their people in SkillsUSA activities. Many more work directly with state associations and local chapters.

State Championships

SkillsUSA programs include local, state, and national competitions in which students demonstrate occupational and leadership skills. At the annual national-level SkillsUSA Championships, over 5,500 students compete in 94 occupational and leadership skill areas. SkillsUSA RI participates in 66 competitions at the state and national level.

SkillsUSA programs also help to establish industry standards for job skill training in the lab and classroom, and promote community service. SkillsUSA is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and is cited as a “successful model of employer-driven youth development training program” by the U.S. Department of Labor.

 

2023-2024 SkillsUSA Theme

SkillsUSA: No Limits!

The topic to be addressed by contestants in the 2024 SkillsUSA Chapter Display, Prepared Speech and Promotional Bulletin Board competitions is our theme, “SkillsUSA: No Limits!.”

The Chapter Excellence Program

The Chapter Excellence Program (CEP) takes the guess work out of what it looks like to be a healthy SkillsUSA chapter. It provides requirements and indicators that meet the standards for success and prepares members for career readiness as defined by the SkillsUSA Framework.

By participating in program of work activities, SkillsUSA chapters become channels for meaningful student growth. Students take part in planning, organization, and implementation of activities, which develops their skills and builds character. The CEP recognizes these efforts by offering every chapter an opportunity to attain measurable competencies in pursuit of the framework.

SkillsUSA Rhode Island State Association Constitution