what is skills usa

SkillsUSA is a United States career and technical student organization that serves more than 395,000 high school, college, and middle school students and professional members enrolled in training programs in trade, technical, and skilled service. It was founded in 1965 and was originally known as the Vocational Industrial Clubs of America (VICA) . SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers, and industry representatives working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce. The organization helps each student to excel and empowers its members to become world-class workers, leaders, and responsible American citizens. SkillsUSA improves the quality of the nations future skilled workforce through the development of Framework skills that include personal, workplace, and technical skills grounded in academics. The organization also helps to establish industry standards for job skill training in the classroom and promotes community service. Students compete in Leadership and Skilled/Technical contests that prepare them for real-world situations.