Building our Future with Skills USA

When it comes to recruiting the best & brightest apprentices, hosting Skills USA competitions all over Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio is a great place to start. The Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters hosted Skills USA competitions in Richfield, Rossford, Columbus, Monroe, Merrillville, and Greenwood. More competitions are scheduled in Kentucky in the coming weeks as well.

SkillsUSA Championships are competitive events showcasing the best career and technical education students in the nation. Contests begin locally and continue through the state and national levels. The philosophy of the Championships is to reward students for excellence, to involve industry in directly evaluating student performance and to keep training relevant to employers’ needs.

Contestants frame walls using wood and/or steel studs, cut and install rafters, gable end overhangs, fascia board, and soffit installation, install sheathing and/or exterior siding and trim. Contestants are judged on accuracy, ability to read and interpret blueprints, workmanship, safety and the proper use of tools, equipment, and materials.

Congratulations to all contests participants and the winners who advance to their state finals.

Richfield

On Friday, 02/21/2020, the Richfield Training Center hosted the North Central Regional SkillsUSA Carpentry competition.  The contest showcased 10 high school carpentry students, representing 8 different high schools and joint vocational programs.  While the contestants were hard at work, Richfield Instructors, Apprentices, and IKORCC Business Reps gave tours to the spectators, family members, fellow students, and Career Tech teachers that came to support their contestants.  At the end of the competition, the students’ work was scored by Richfield Instructors David Knight and Joe Mursencavage.  The scores were announced to the crowd of about 85 spectators, with the top three finishers advancing to the Ohio SkillsUSA State Competition, which will be held on 04/07/2020, at the Columbus Convention Center.

1st Place was Blake Yates from Wayne County Career Center

2nd Place was Alex Jutte from Lorain County JVS

3rd Place was Nathan Coudriet from Cuyahoga Valley Career Center

The following schools had contestants entered the event:

Wayne County Career Center, Lorain County JVS, Mayfield/Excel TECC, Medina County Career Center, Ashland County-West Holmes Career Center, Cuyahoga Valley Career Center, Maple Heights High School, and Polaris Career Center.

Rossford

First place – Matthew Sayers with Tri-Rivers Career Center
Second place – Mark Rice with Vantage Career Center
Third place – Jeffery Flory Jr with Penta Career Center
Fourth place – Matthew Chappell with VSCTC – Sentinel Campus

Columbus

1stPlace – Cameron Grimes, Jefferson County JVS

2nd Place – Derrick Dunlap, Buckeye Career Center

3rd Place – William Langley, Mideast Career Center

4th Place – Shawn Nethers, C-Tect

Columbus/ South Central Regional Winners

1st Place – Javen Kohn, Pike County JVS

2nd Place – Abigail Averwater, US Grant JVS

3rd Place – Devin Mays, Southern Hills

4th Place – Bryon Frye, Scioto CCTC

Monroe

Congratulations to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners from Diamond Oaks Career Center, Scarlet Oaks Career Center, and Butler Tech-Northwest High School. Good luck at the SkillsUSA State Competition in April. A special thanks to this year’s judges also, Joe Pittman Sr., Scott Fletcher, Todd Bluss, and Jeff Schlarman.

Greenwood

Aldo Jara – Area 31

Davis Beckham – Central 9

Charles Held – Central 9

Jackson Paris – Central 9

Ignacio Andres – Richmond

Merrillville

Check out the great video created by Hammond School’s Multi-Media Broadcast Class showcasing the Skills USA competition in Merrillville.