Fact Book
June 2, 2017
About SkillsUSA

SkillsUSA is an IRS-designated 501(c)(3) not-for-profit association of 335,000 member students and
educators partnering with business and industry to ensure that America has a well-prepared skilled
workforce.

SkillsUSA’s Mission: To empower our members to become world-class workers, leaders and
responsible American citizens.

Founded in 1965 as the Vocational Industrial Clubs of America (“VICA”). Rebranded as SkillsUSA–
VICA in 1999 and as SkillsUSA in 2004.

SkillsUSA’s Program of Work is delivered through almost 19,000 SkillsUSA member classrooms
(sections) in more than 4,000 public schools (chapters) in all 50 states, DC, Puerto Rico and the U.S.
Virgin Islands. These schools are comprehensive high schools with career and technical curricula,
regional career and technical education centers, and sub-baccalaureate postsecondary degree, diploma
and certificate-granting schools (e.g., community colleges). Recently, SkillsUSA also has begun to
develop chapters in middle schools and in workforce development agencies outside of traditional
schools.

One hundred thirty (130) trade, technical and skilled service occupational titles are represented in the
curricula of SkillsUSA member students, covering the construction, manufacturing, transportation,
health sciences, information technology, communications, personal services, hospitality, public safety
and engineering technology industries.

In the 2016-17 academic year, SkillsUSA’s membership was composed of
282,633 high school students
16,007 professionals (educators) from the High School Division
32,049 college/postsecondary students
3,454 professionals (educators) from the C/PS Division
1,429 middle school students + 64 professionals
59,753 registered Alumni
316,111 total students
19,525 total professionals
395,389 TOTAL MEMBERS (including registered Alumni)
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14001 SkillsUSA Way; Leesburg, VA 20176-5494 (703) 777-8810
In 2016-17, SkillsUSA had at least a thousand member students in 14 of the 16 Career Clusters defined
by the State Directors of Career and Technical Education.
 Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources = 2,445
 Architecture & Construction = 58,058
 Arts, A/V Technology & Communication = 28,884
 Business, Management & Administration = 1,292
 Education & Training = 3,368
 Finance = 0
 Government & Public Administration = 0
 Health Science = 20,057
 Hospitality & Tourism = 14,479
 Human Services = 25,488
 Information Technology = 12,917
 Law, Public Safety, Corrections & Security = 18,596
 Manufacturing = 13,822
 Marketing = 1,764
 Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics = 14,818
 Transportation, Distribution & Logistics = 42,691
Student Gender 2016-17
o 62% male
o 38% female
Student Ethnicity 2011-12
o 64% White
o 18% Hispanic/Latino
o 14% Black
o 1% American Indian
o 1% Asian
o 2% Other
SkillsUSA’s annual membership counts have aggregated to a total of 12 million students and educators
served since its founding in 1965.
The SkillsUSA Leadership Center is located eight miles north of Leesburg in rural Northern Virginia,
about 50 miles northwest of downtown Washington, DC, and about 30 minutes’ drive from Dulles
International Airport. SkillsUSA employs 30 staff.
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14001 SkillsUSA Way; Leesburg, VA 20176-5494 (703) 777-8810
Organization
There are three basic levels of organization within SkillsUSA: local, state and national.
 At local chapters, elected student officers organize and member students carry out the Program of
Work under the guidance of a teacher-advisor. The Program of Work delivers SkillsUSA’s
Framework (workplace skills, personal skills, technical skills) and includes employability and leadership
skills development, competitions, community service, occupationally-related employment while in
school, chapter fund raising, social activities, and public relations.

SkillsUSA state association directors, usually a state Education department employee or state contract
employee, provide chapter membership development and state student officer leadership training,
oversee the local chapters within his or her state and conduct the state-level leadership conferences and
SkillsUSA Championships competitions.

The SkillsUSA National Office provides
o Management of the National Leadership and Skills Conference and its SkillsUSA
Championships;
o Leadership and employability skills curriculum development and training;
o Publications and member communication vehicles such as Champions magazine and the
national website (www.skillsusa.org);
o Fund raising and program delivery for national mission-related projects and events;
o Service to SkillsUSA’s state associations;
o Legislative awareness and response;
o Training and management of student National Officers; and
o Selection and development of the SkillsUSA WorldTeam; which competes in the biennial
WorldSkills Competition.
SkillsUSA’s volunteer board of directors is composed of
o five appointed representatives from SkillsUSA business and industry partner organizations
o five elected education officials representing each of SkillsUSA’s regions
o ex-officio members representing the
 Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE)
 SkillsUSA State Directors Association
 SkillsUSA Foundation chairperson (a business/industry representative)
 Advance CTE (state directors of CTE)
 The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC)
o the SkillsUSA executive director
Chairman of the Board: Chris Arvin (Caterpillar Inc.)
Executive Director: Timothy Lawrence
Chairman of the SkillsUSA Foundation: Kaye Morgan-Curtis (Newell Brands)
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14001 SkillsUSA Way; Leesburg, VA 20176-5494 (703) 777-8810
Fund Raising
The SkillsUSA Foundation, a separate 501(c)(3) organization also governed by the board of directors of
SkillsUSA, Inc., accepts all financial and in-kind donations supporting the national mission-related events,
programs and projects of SkillsUSA. Senior representatives from SkillsUSA’s key business and industry
partners serve on the SkillsUSA Foundation Advisory Board, providing counsel on and networking to other
prospective SkillsUSA partners, stewarding their own company’s relationship to SkillsUSA, and
occasionally making recommendations to the board of directors on partner policy.
In FY16, the SkillsUSA Foundation raised $3.6 million in unrestricted and restricted financial donations for
SkillsUSA’s national mission delivery. The SkillsUSA Championships attracts a conservatively estimated
$36 million in in-kind donations of volunteer labor and expertise, contest equipment and supplies and
contest prizes.
Ninety-two percent (92%) of SkillsUSA’s FY16 operating expenses were spent on program services for
member students and educators.
National Leadership and Skills Conference
The capstone event of the SkillsUSA annual calendar is the weeklong National Leadership and Skills
Conference during the last full week in June, attended by more than 16,000 students, friends and family,
educators, volunteers and VIPs from business, education and government. The NLSC features leadership
training for state and chapter officers and advisors, SkillsUSA University seminars, commercial and
educational exhibits, Opening and Awards ceremonies, Delegate sessions and student national officer
elections, meetings and social events and a community service project.
The highlight event of the NLSC is the two-day SkillsUSA Championships. The 2016 SkillsUSA
Championships featured 6,200 student competitors, all state-level winners, competing in 100 leadership and
hands-on occupational skills contests, occupying more than one million square feet of contest space at the
Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville. Two thousand (2,000) volunteers from SkillsUSA’s business,
industry and labor partners served as contest judges or as technical committee members that design, manage
and provision the contests.
The SkillsUSA Championships is the preeminent showcase of public technical education in the U.S.
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14001 SkillsUSA Way; Leesburg, VA 20176-5494 (703) 777-8810
Washington Leadership Training Institute (WLTI)
SkillsUSA’s second annual national conference, WLTI, brings together 450 student leaders and educators
in mid-September for five days of training in leadership and in advocacy for CTE and SkillsUSA,
culminating in meetings with elected representatives on Capitol Hill.
SkillsUSA WorldTeam
In 1973 President Richard Nixon appointed then-named VICA as the sole U.S. representative to
WorldSkills International. SkillsUSA has sent a team of students to compete in every biennial WorldSkills
Competition since 1975. Today, 76 countries have membership in WorldSkills International and more
than 60 send teams to compete.
The SkillsUSA WorldTeam’s participation has provided a vehicle for comparing vocational students and
methods of training in the U.S. with that our global economic competitors. Our WorldTeam is clearly
competing against countries that place far greater economic, political and cultural priority on the
development of a skilled work force. We have proven that we cannot only compete, but can win, when we
have the financial resources that give our U.S. students a fair chance. Unlike almost every other member
nation that makes heavy governmental investments in its WorldSkills team, the U.S. delegation from
SkillsUSA is funded solely by private contributions.
The next WorldSkills Competition is in Abu Dhabi, UAE, October 14-19, 2017.
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14001 SkillsUSA Way; Leesburg, VA 20176-5494 (703) 777-8810