2023 SkillsUSA Texas Conference Provides Unique Opportunity for Students to Showcase Their Industry Skills

The 2023 SkillsUSA Texas Conference was held from March 30 – April 2 in Corpus Christi, TX.

SkillsUSA provides opportunities for students to develop technical and leadership skills through competitions at the local, state and national levels. These competitions cover a wide range of career fields, including construction, automotive technology, culinary arts, healthcare and more.

The competitions kick off at the district level, including 13 districts throughout the state. From there, district champions advance to the state competition where they compete to proceed to the national stage.

SkillsUSA Teamworks Competition

The SkillsUSA Teamworks Competition is an event within the conference where students can showcase their teamwork, technical and leadership skills in the construction field.

The teams are made up of four people (a carpenter, plumber, electrician, and mason) who work to complete various construction-related tasks.

As a SkillsUSA Teamworks Tech Chair, my team of judges comprised Building Code Officials, Inspectors, a Safety Officer, and representatives from the International Code Council, including Scott Winn, who promoted the Code Council’s High School Technical Training Program.

I also enlisted the expertise of two former SkillsUSA National Champions who returned as judges.

The project for the Teamworks Competition had to adhere to specified building codes, this year’s was the Code Council’s 2018 International Residential Code®. We aimed to emulate the intensity of the National competitions by condensing the 14-hour event into two days, providing teams with a taste of real-world experience.

This included tasks such as maintaining a clean job site during and after the competition. Our Safety Officer, with 25 years of experience and extensive knowledge of OSHA regulations, proved to be an asset to our team. We emphasized to the students that as future Project Superintendents, they would be tasked with similar responsibilities, including ensuring compliance with applicable codes and collaborating with inspectors.

During the competition, one of my team members, a former National Champion in Teamworks, approached me with a question regarding what happened to the construction materials post-competition.

She asked if she and her friend could transport the remaining materials back to Camp Cowboy, an organization that assists veterans in readjusting to civilian life following their service. They intended to utilize the leftover materials for constructing tiny homes on their campus and creating training obstacles for horses.

SkillsUSA embraced the opportunity to support the veterans and in return, Camp Cowboy expressed interest in sending veterans to assist our team in staging materials for next year’s competition.