SkillsUSA National Updates

April 14-18, 2025

Friday Flash

Register for Signing Day Soon!
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 and there is no cost to participate. 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.

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.

National Apprenticeship Day is April 30
The U.S. Department of Labor has moved National Apprenticeship Week (NAW) to April. 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.

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 on May 8. To participate, follow the instructions that will be posted next week 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

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 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 skills, empathy 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 contact information for each outlet, click on the name of the newspaper.

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 industry 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 ([email protected]).

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. 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.

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 must 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 requirement. Click on the link above to check New Mexico’s Real ID requirements.

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 Releases 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 Friday Flash, April 18, 2025