SkillsUSA Championships 2016: the Best of the Best
Talk about getting lucky. When I was approached about attending the National SkillsUSA Championship as a judge, I was absolutely excited!
Sure, I would be judging students who ALL know way more about cars than I ever will… but that didn’t matter! I was the chosen one. Maybe I got lucky because of my experience training folks on how to use ProDemand. Look, it hardly matters… I am just happy I had the opportunity to attend this fantastic event.
A SkillsUSA student hard at work using ProDemand in the Mitchell 1 Online Service Information station.
This was the 52nd SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference — including the SkillsUSA Championships — held June 20-24 in Louisville, KY. Each vocational discipline has 50 high school and 50 college students participating, based on placing first in their respective states. Our area was Automotive Service Technology, but there was a wide variety of disciplines represented including criminal justice, masonry, culinary arts, urban search and rescue, cosmetology, telecommunications cabling, metal fabrication, and many, many more.
The Automotive Service Technology area had 13 stations for students to complete. I was a lead judge for the Mitchell 1/Snap-on Online Service Information station. Students had 20 minutes to complete a 15-question multiple choice test using ProDemand, our premier auto repair information software.
In addition to service information, other testing stations included wheel alignment, vehicle body electrical diagnosis, electronic systems, brake service and diagnosis, automatic transmission service, etc. Contestants were judged on technical competency, accuracy, quality, safety and ability to follow directions. These bright, young students were all eager to take on the challenges that SkillsUSA presented them.
The students in my area were all were extremely passionate about cars. They often would share with me what type of project car or truck they are currently working on. They would describe in great detail the obstacles they had to overcome to get their project road worthy. I was amazed to see such young students so certain of their career paths and so dedicated to achieving their personal goals. The students here were the best of the best in their states and it showed!
Click to see more photos on the Mitchell 1 Facebook page
Click the image to see more photos on the Mitchell 1 Facebook page.
