The American Boat & Yacht Council was proud to participate at this year’s SkillsUSA National Championships in Atlanta. ABYC’s senior director of business development, David Broadbent, and I were judges for the challenge labs that the ABYC created for the competition. Membership services manager Maggi Adey held down the fort at our booth near the competition site.

SkillsUSA is a nationwide, nonprofit educational association that serves middle school, high school and postsecondary students who are preparing for skilled-trade and service-oriented careers. The goal is to ensure a flow of skilled workers into America’s workforce. SkillsUSA organizes local, state and national competitions covering a range of hands-on, skilled-labor careers, including those in the marine trades. 

SkillsUSA works with schools from every state, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin islands, along with 18,000-plus career technical education instructors to create excitement and interest in, and advance the reality of, careers in hands-on trades as an option to the traditional college path, and a very successful way to make a living. SkillsUSA has had more than 14 million members since 1965, including more than 390,000 current members.

The National Leadership and Skills Competition culminates a year’s worth of local and state competitions. State champions in each discipline compete. The event has more than 15,000 attendees, with more than 6,500 competitors in 110 competitions. The contests are designed, run and adjudicated by industry volunteers, trades associations and labor organizations. These competitions are the ultimate recognition of excellence in career and technical education, providing a great opportunity for students to showcase their abilities. 

Aside from the competitions, the other major aspect of the event is a giant job fair. Businesses, manufacturers, industry organizations and even representatives from branches of the military set up shop to meet and greet competitors and their families. Many exhibitors have impressive product and interactive displays that highlight career opportunities.

For many years, the Marine-Service Technology division of the NLSC was not as well-represented as it should have been. Yamaha carried the entire load from the recreational marine industry. The company did a fantastic job but needed help. The ABYC got involved about five years ago, and as an impartial entity in the marine industry, we put out a call for any and all marine manufacturers and organizations that could help supply materials, equipment and resources to the marine-service technology aspect of SkillsUSA.

The industry responded. We had more partners this year than ever contributing their time and resources to create and judge hands-on competition labs. Along with Yamaha, we worked with Mercury, Honda, Suzuki and the National Marine Electronics Association to create new labs and challenge the competitors.

The culmination was an awards ceremony at State Farm Arena to honor the top three finishers in each of the 110 competitions. Each took their spot in turn on the podium on stage as their name and place were announced, and they received a medal. Video of the award ceremony is available on YouTube.

As with many things in life, we always want more. More participating partners, more industry representatives in booths, more items to give away as prizes and to fill swag bags. All of us in the marine industry know that workforce development and getting younger workers into our industry has been at the forefront of the issues we’ve faced for many years. If your company is looking for ways to find more workers, SkillsUSA is a great way to do it. 

Get involved at the local and state levels. Judge a competition, design a skills lab, support a student. If you’re a manufacturer, get some product and representation in a booth on the competition floor. Do what you can to excite students about the possibility of a career in the marine trades, to ensure the future success of the industry for everyone.

To get involved, visit skillsusa.org or nlsc.skillsusa.org.

SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference Winners 

High School 

Gold: Charles Todd, McIntosh County Academy, Darien, Ga.

Silver: Charles Powell, Beaufort-Jasper Academy for Career Excellence, Ridgeland, S.C.

Bronze: Harrison Adams, Bridging Communities Regional CTEC, New Kent, Va.

College 

Gold: Andrew Couey, Carteret Community College, Morehead City, N.C.

Silver: Nicholas J. Walter, Alexandria Technical & Community College, Alexandria, Minn.

Bronze: Michael Turk, Chippewa Valley Technical College, Eau Claire, Wis.

Mike Bonicker is lead instructor at the American Boat & Yacht Council.