BATON ROUGE, LA – The SkillsUSA Louisiana College/Post-Secondary State Association announced the membership for 2022-2023 academic year was a record-breaking 830 members. Members include students and professionals from all LCTCS colleges.
Dr. Damian Glover, executive director for SkillsUSA Louisiana College/Post-Secondary credited the investment from Representative Paula Davis through the house appropriations committee and the work of the regional managers for the increase in membership for SkillsUSA.
"Following the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, the opportunity to gain new and active members in SkillsUSA proved to be one that was challenging. At two-year institution’s, the cycle of students who are admitted and complete programs changes rapidly, so we are constantly having to introduce SkillsUSA to new students," Glover said.
"In addition, there are significant financial barriers that prevent students from competing in SkillsUSA. Many are struggling to provide for their families and fund their education, leaving little room to pay for extracurriculars. The investment from Representative Paula Davis through the house appropriations committee provided financial relief for our students and has allowed the state association to pay for all memberships, purchase equipment and tools to prepare students, work to provide a world-class experience for them at our state leadership and skills conference."
The 2023 SkillsUSA State Leadership and Skills Conference for Louisiana College/Post-Secondary is slated to be hosted April 2-5 in Alexandria, LA. There will be over 50 competitions covered with an anticipated attendance of over 400 students, professionals, and business and industry partners.
The state association will host a breakfast on Tuesday titled "Come and See about SkillsUSA". This event will be geared toward local workforce development boards, governing agencies, education entities, business and industry partners, legislators, and community members. The goal of this program is to provide a state of the association and a tour of the SkillsUSA competition floor. Attendance to the event is free and is open to the public with limited seating available. Please register here.
The registration for the state leadership and skills conference is now open through March 15 and can be completed by visiting www.skillsusa-register.org.
For more information on SkillsUSA, please visit www.skillsusalouisiana.org.
About SkillsUSA
SkillsUSA is a vital solution to the growing U.S. skills gap. The nonprofit partnership of students, instructors and industry ensures America has the skilled workforce it needs to stay competitive. Endorsed by the U.S. Department of Education, the association serves more than 360,000-member students and instructors each year in middle schools, high schools and colleges. This diverse talent pipeline covers 130 trade, technical and skilled service occupations, the majority STEM-related. More than 600 corporations, trade associations, businesses and labor unions actively support SkillsUSA at the national level. SkillsUSA empowers its members to become world-class workers, leaders and responsible American citizens as it improves the quality of our nation’s future skilled workforce. SkillsUSA supports its student members by developing the SkillsUSA Framework of personal, workplace and technical skills grounded in academics. Local, state and national championships, designed and judged by industry, set relevant standards for career and technical education and provide recognition opportunities for students. SkillsUSA also offers technical skill assessments and workplace credentials through the SkillsUSA Career Essentials program, a cutting-edge solution that defines, implements and measures career readiness skills for students. For more information: www.SkillsUSA.org.
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