SkillsUSA National Updates

April 7-11, 2025

Friday Flash

Register for Signing Day!

CALLING ALL CHAPTERS! SkillsUSA’s National Signing Day is on May 6, (or another day of your chapter’s choosing). It is a day when chapters across the nation celebrate our next generation of skilled professionals as they sign letters of intent to pursue career pathways in the skilled trades. Will you add your chapter’s voice to thousands of others? Download our Signing Day toolkit and learn more about SkillsUSA Signing Day. The deadline to register is April 30. Help us show the nation the future is in good hands … because it’s in SKILLED hands! Watch the Signing Day message from Chelle Travis. Signing Day is sponsored by the Lowe’s Foundation, 3M, State Farm and NAPA.

National Apprenticeship Day is this Month

In response to stakeholder feedback, 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.

Are You REAL ID Ready for Air Travel?

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 driver’s 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 above to check your state’s Real ID requirements.

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

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 the 2025 SKILLS JAM cast! (You do not need to attend the NLSC to be selected as a cast member.) See the SKILLS JAM overview for more information.

Press Release Template for State Conference Winners

We encourage you to promote your state conference winners to your local media. Here is an editable press release template to share on the Advocacy Site. This makes it easy for state winners and their advisors to share competition results with your hometown media. Parents, instructors, students or anyone can send these emails. Share this advocacy link at school and at your state conferences. You can send a message to six media contacts at a time by selecting news outlets and clicking on Send a Message. You can send a press release for one student or for the whole school.

SkillsUSA’s National Week of Service

Giving back to the community is a huge part of SkillsUSA’s Program of Work, which guides chapters in developing an annual calendar of activities and experiences. To complement their service activities throughout the year, 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 is our 60th anniversary

We encourage participants to publicize their projects to the community and 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 at a time. Then, click on “Send a Message.” At “Compose Your Own Message” fill in your contact information and copy and paste your message into the form and click send. To see the full contact information for each outlet, click on the name of the newspaper.

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.

These scholarships close on April 15:

• The AHRI Clifford “Ted” Rees Memorial Scholarship
• The Fine Homebuilding #KeepCraftAlive Scholarship
• The Larry Rash Memorial Scholarship
• The Marsha Daves Memorial Scholarship
• The National Technical Honor Society Scholarship
• The SkillsUSA WD-40 Scholarship

Scholarship closing on May 2

• 2025 Robert Flint Student Leadership Development Scholarship for Leverage Conference

Scholarship closing on May 30

• Bob Westphal Memorial Scholarship

NEW NLSC travel scholarships close May 26

• Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Travel Scholarship (applicants can receive up to $1,500 to attend the 2025 NLSC)
• Hyundai Travel Grant (applicants can receive up to $1,500 to attend the 2025 NLSC)

Scholarship closing on June 30

• NAPA/SkillsUSA Transportation Repair Pathway Scholarship

SkillsUSA Friday Flash, April 11, 2025