April 2025
Register for SkillsUSA National Signing Day
SkillsUSA National Signing Day registration is open and all chapters are eligible to participate. On Signing Day (on May 6 or another date of your chapter’s choosing), recognize your students for signing letters of intent to pursue a career or further education in the skilled trades. Download our Signing Day toolkit and learn more about SkillsUSA Signing Day. The final deadline to register is April 30. Watch the Signing Day message from Chelle Travis. Signing Day is sponsored by the Lowe’s Foundation, 3M, State Farm and NAPA.
Embark on the Ultimate Scavenger Hunt: Expedition SkillsUSA!
Attention SkillsUSA students and advisors — get ready for an exciting adventure that will test your SkillsUSA knowledge and challenge your creativity as you complete as many missions as possible to put yourself in the running for awesome prizes. This virtual game is being launched April 21-25 to help celebrate SkillsUSA’s 60th anniversary, which is on May 8. To participate, you will follow the instructions posted in our newsletters and on social media, set up an account on Goosechase, enter the adventure when it opens on April 21 and begin submitting your missions for judging.
Who? Open to registered SkillsUSA students and advisors — you will compete individually in your track.
What? A virtual scavenger hunt featuring SkillsUSA history and fun challenges.
When? Expedition SkillsUSA runs for one week, April 21-25.
Why? Show off your SkillsUSA knowledge, learn cool facts and win national bragging rights!
What can I win? Six winners (three advisors and three students) will be named with two first place prizes of $100, two second place prizes of $50 and two third place prizes of $25.
The six SkillsUSA Expedition prizes are coupons to the SkillsUSA Store that must be redeemed by May 30, 2025. The SkillsUSA Store offers a curated selection of logo merchandise, tech essentials, chapter supplies, apparel and graduation regalia. Each prize voucher will have a unique code and may be used only once. In the event of multiple winners, a random drawing will be held to determine the top prize getters.
Think you have what it takes to win each mission and conquer Expedition SkillsUSA? Stay tuned for details on how to join the hunt and claim your prize! #ExpeditionSkillsUSA
New Chapter Success: Springfield High School of Science and Technology (Mass.)
Congratulations to Springfield High School of Science and Technology. The school enrolled a remarkable 101 members in its first year of having a SkillsUSA chapter! Technical programs director Shelly Zaya took the time to visit each CTE program, share information about conferences, competitions and leadership development, and display an official SkillsUSA uniform to help students visualize their membership. Shelly and two teachers who are serving as chapter advisors also participated in SkillsUSA trainings to ensure their chapter is set for future success. “This strong start reflects the commitment and excitement of our CTE community as we embark on this journey with SkillsUSA,” she said. In recognition of this new chapter’s success, the Skilled Careers Coalition has gifted $250 to help the chapter continue its growth.
Mike Holmes’ Podcast Features Skilled Trade Worker Shortage
SkillsUSA supporter Mike Holmes and his daughter Sherry Holmes of the Holmes on Homes Podcast are kicking off Season 5 on April 17. In the first episode, “Why is There a Shortage of Skilled Trade Workers? How VR Training and Early Education Can Help Solve the Problem,” Mike and Sherry Holmes, educator Frank Meleca and virtual reality (VR) training expert Shawn Smith explore what’s causing the drop in youth entering the trades, what we can do about it and how technology like VR and early education can help solve the skilled trades crisis and shape the workforce of tomorrow. You can listen to the full episode on all podcast streaming platforms, including the Mike Holmes’ YouTube Channel, as well as on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Call for Photos of Advisory Committees in Action
Does your school/chapter have active Program or SkillsUSA advisory committees and do you have photos of your meetings? SkillsUSA is working on a new Advisory Committee Toolkit, and we would love photos from our SkillsUSA schools to include in the resource. If you have photos of advisory committee members in meetings, working with students, serving as judges or speakers, or your students interacting with the committee, please email them to Amanda Crawley.
Apply for the 2025 SKILLS JAM Cast
SKILLS JAM! Everyone’s favorite entertainment brand focused on skills careers content — made for youth, by youth — is coming back to the National Leadership & Skills Conference (NLSC) in Atlanta to participate with MORE fun and MORE exciting ways to be a part of the action! SKILLS JAM invites all creators, builders and doers to submit an audition video for a chance to be featured in their 2025 cast! (You do not need to be at NLSC to be selected as a cast member.) See the SKILLS JAM overview for more information.
SkillsUSA’s National Week of Service
Giving back to the community is an important part of SkillsUSA’s Program of Work, which guides chapters in developing an annual calendar of activities and experiences. All SkillsUSA chapters are invited to plan, promote and conduct a specific service project during the SkillsUSA National Week of Service on May 4-10, 2025. This event helps commemorate the founding of SkillsUSA on May 8, 1965, and this year marks our 60th anniversary.
Check out the latest SkillsUSA Champions story that details the work of 30 SkillsUSA chapters that have led meaningful community service projects in their communities. Service projects build skillsempathy and awareness of community issues and needs. Through service, these students developed real-world skills and created lasting connections between their school and the community.
Be sure to publicize your projects to the community via your local media. To locate contact information for area newspapers, use the Advocacy Site. On the site, click on “Media,” enter your ZIP code, and choose up to six outlets. Then, click on “Send a Message.” Fill in your contact information and copy and paste your message into the form. To see the full contact information for each outlet, click on the name of the newspaper.
National Apprenticeship Day is April 30
The U.S. Department of Labor has moved National Apprenticeship Week (NAW) to the Spring. To help with the shift, there will be a single National Apprenticeship Day in 2025 on April 30. The weeklong celebration will resume in April 2026. This national celebration brings together business leaders, career seekers, labor, apprentices, educational institutions and others to showcase the positive impact apprenticeship programs have on addressing the skills gap and preparing the American workforce for the jobs of today and tomorrow. Join the celebration by hosting an event — such as an apprenticeship graduation, business open house, high school career fair, skills competition or industry roundtable — or submit a proclamation supporting NAW and apprenticeship. Learn more about National Apprenticeship Day.
SkillsUSA-Aerotek “Make Your Mark” Scholarships Are Open
SkillsUSA members nationwide are encouraged to apply for the SkillsUSA-Aerotek “Make Your Mark” scholarship. The scholarship is for SkillsUSA members who expect direct educational costs for the Fall 2025 term at a community college, technical college, certificate program or apprenticeship program. Applications close on May 30. Recipients will receive up to $5,000 toward tuition, books, tools, on-campus housing or other approved direct educational expenses. Applicants must be engaged in continuing education/career training in one of these pathways: Construction; Manufacturing; Transportation, Distribution & Logistics; Telecommunications Cabling Training; and Electronics Technology or Industrial Engineering Technology. Review all eligibility criteria on this flyer.
SkillsUSA Scholarships and NLSC Travel Grants
Please encourage your SkillsUSA students to apply and take advantage of our incredible scholarships including travel grants to attend the National Leadership & Skills Conference (NLSC). Exploring and applying for SkillsUSA scholarships is an easy process. SkillsUSA student members can review eligibility criteria, scholarship amounts and applications on the scholarships page on the website. For questions, contact our Customer Care Team.
Scholarship closing on May 2
NLSC travel scholarships close May 26
Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Travel Scholarship (receive up to $1,500 to attend the 2025 NLSC)
Hyundai Travel Grant (receive up to $1,500 to attend the 2025 NLSC)
Scholarship closing on May 30
Scholarship closing on June 30
NLSC 2025 Courtesy Corps Members
SkillsUSA is recruiting National Courtesy Corps (NCC) members to support the 2025 National Leadership & Skills Conference (NLSC). This much-appreciated group supports the competition technical committees and the overall conference experience, and it’s a great way for students to network with industry partners and other SkillsUSA students from across the nation. NCC members receive free NLSC registration, housing, local transportation and meals. NCC participants are required to stay at their assigned Georgia Tech campus housing in Atlanta. For a link to the nomination form and eligibility requirements, visit the National Courtesy Corps web page. For questions, contact Lauri Domer. The deadline for nominations is April 30.
Make48 Innovation Challenge
SkillsUSA is collaborating with Make48 to bring hands-on innovation challenges to more students in the 2025-26 school year. Beginning in August, teams of students will compete to innovate and prototype a new product during the fall semester. See their flyer and share it with your students. Registrations will be accepted until the brackets are full. To learn more, visit their web page.
Are You REAL ID Ready for Air Travel to NLSC?
If you and your students are traveling to the national conference, be sure your travel identification is in order now. Beginning May 7, 2025, U.S. travelers ages 18 and older will need to present a REAL ID compliant license/ID for air travel within the United States. To know if you have a REAL ID, look for a star (and/or flag) or the words “Enhanced” on your license or state ID in the upper right corner. In addition to a driver’s license, a U.S. passport meets the REAL ID requirement. Click on the link check your state’s Real ID requirements.
Share Your Community Service Stories with SkillsUSA!
The SkillsUSA Champions digital hub provides new content frequently, from inspiring features to stories about the great work chapters and partners are doing. We know your chapters are doing some amazing community service work this spring and we would love to write about it. To submit a story, send us the details through our “Submit a Story” link, and we’ll contact you.
