Professional Membership Has Its Privileges
The SkillsUSA registration site is open for the new school year and advisors should join now so they receive all mailings and emails. Professional members receive many resources and benefits when they submit membership: the Framework Integration Toolkit ensures career readiness within your classroom, training program and chapter; the Program of Work Toolkit includes resources to help implement an effective and successful Program of Work; the “Jump into STEM!” curriculum provides an opportunity to engage elementary and middle school students in STEM learning; and the SkillsUSA Championships Technical Standards are the official regulations for the SkillsUSA Championships career competitions. E-Courses and advisor professional development provide a variety of training options. National dues for professional members are $20 plus state dues, which vary. Most benefits are digital so be sure to sign up with an email address you check often! View or download this PDF for 2021-22 state dues and deadlines, and you can find the registration site here.
SkillsUSA Career Essentials Certifications for Students
SkillsUSA has three Career Essentials certifications and two bundled payment options available for your students:
· CTE Knowledge Certification: Students learn how SkillsUSA and career and technical education are solutions to the world’s skills gap. To earn the certification, they will complete an e-module, complete and submit a learning journal and pass a 20-question knowledge assessment.
· SkillsUSA Framework Certification: Students learn about SkillsUSA and how it ensures the development of world-class workers, leaders and responsible citizens through the SkillsUSA Framework. To earn the certification, students will complete an e-module, submit a learning journal, review the Essential Elements definitions and behaviors, pass a 20-question SkillsUSA Framework assessment and complete a self-evaluation.
· DEI Certification: Students will learn how successful leaders create environments where everyone can participate; promote diversity, equity and inclusion; and feel included, valued and respected. To earn the certification, students will complete an e-module, submit a worksheet and pass an assessment.
The SkillsUSA Knowledge Certification and the SkillsUSA Framework Certification are bundled together at $10.95 per user. With the DEI Certification, the cost for all three is $13.95.
If you already have an account in Absorb, SkillsUSA’s learning management system, log in and place your order. If you don’t have an account in Absorb, contact a Customer Care Team member by email or call 844-875-4557 to create an account and place an order. To learn more, see the flyers here.
Share Your Champions
The SkillsUSA Champions digital hub provides new content weekly, from inspiring features to “Spotlight” stories about the great work chapters and partners are doing. To get a SkillsUSA member’s story considered for publication on the site (even if that story is yours), use our Submit a Story online form.
Local Chapter Recruitment Resources Available
Check out the SkillsUSA Recruitment Week resource hub to learn how your chapter leaders can successfully plan activities to engage potential new SkillsUSA members. There are also advisor resources to coach chapter leaders around recruitment and engaging potential new members. Holding a chapter recruitment activity is a Chapter Excellence Program Level 2 indicator, so utilizing these resources can be one extra step in achieving chapter excellence.
Upcoming SkillsUSA Technical Fridays Workshops
Join us for “Technical Fridays,” SkillsUSA’s virtual workshops led by industry experts helping teachers develop specific technical skills relevant to their career fields of interest. Leave the sessions with a new skill to implement in your classroom. Learn more about the workshops here.
· On Sept. 30, from 3-4 p.m. ET, we will be joined by Linnell Burton, a certified crime scene investigator, anti-terrorist crime scene instructor, and a founder of Blueprint Camp LLC. Her session was delivered at the 2022 SkillsUSA University in Atlanta and earned a 98% “highly recommended” rating.
· On Oct. 21, from 3-4 p.m. ET, we will be joined by Kyle Boyer, an offensive security consultant providing vulnerability assessment, pen-testing and red-teaming services to large organizations, helping them assess their security posture as well as proactively identifying security weak points before a potential breach. The workshop will provide a high-level overview of the pen-testing process followed by a deep dive into the reconnaissance and enumeration phases of a penetration test. It will also cover Open-Source Intelligence gathering techniques which can be used to gather general information about a target company.
Workshops are free of charge. Register here (space is limited). If you have questions, contact Karolina Belen.
SkillsUSA Career Essentials Instructor-Requested Revisions Are Here!
Teachers asked. SkillsUSA listened! We are excited to announce that a new version of SkillsUSA Career Essentials is now available on SkillsUSA Absorb. Below are a few general highlights of the new course revisions:
· Instructors can now purchase individual units from the high school and adult curricula.
· Required activities have been reduced; instructors have greater control over which and how many projects students complete.
· Instructors are no longer required to approve required project activities from their admin dashboard.
· Instructors choose how students submit project activities. For example, students can now submit project activities by turning in physical documents, by email, uploading to a shared drive, etc.
To view how each course has been revised for greater flexibility and ease of use, click here. For help placing an order or to learn more about the revisions to SkillsUSA Career Essentials, email the Customer Care Team or call 844-875-4557.
CHARGE: A SkillsUSA Chapter Officer Video Series
Advisors work hard to teach their chapter officer teams how to be successful leaders. SkillsUSA recognizes this challenge and has developed a program that makes it easier to create a strong team. CHARGE is a weekly video series that covers topics that will help chapter officers in the day-to-day management of their chapters. Each CHARGE video has an activity guide to support chapter officer growth and development. There are 12 three-minute episodes, and this week, the focus is on Episodes 7-12.
· Episode 7 guides chapter officers through identifying their personal contributions to the team along with those of their teammates.
· Episode 8 guides chapter officers around the work ethic required to run a successful local SkillsUSA chapter.
· Episode 9 guides chapter officers around their core team values and the mission of their SkillsUSA chapter.
· Episode 10 shows chapter officers the importance of having a code of conduct and guides them on how to create their own.
· Episode 11 guides chapter officers on how to set SMART goals for their chapter growth and activities.
· Episode 12 guides teams around taking time to celebrate team accomplishments.
Happy Fall from the SkillsUSA Store
The SkillsUSA Store wishes members a happy first week of fall! Celebrate the new school year and gear up for 2022-23 with some NEW Collections and Store Favorites!
A Wealth of Professional Development This Fall
Please join other SkillsUSA advisors for our fall Professional Development offerings to assist you in launching the new school year. Here are just a few:
Sept. 27 at 3:30 and 6:30 p.m. ET. — Professional Membership Benefits. During this session, we will learn how to navigate the SkillsUSA Absorb Learning Management System (LMS) and discover all the resources you can use. Register through Zoom by finding the session on the calendar here.
Sept. 29 at 3:30 p.m. ET. — Workplace Communication. Learn the skills to deal with difficult situations in the workplace. We will unpack how to strategically approach difficult conversations to maximize success and preserve professional relationships while discovering SkillsUSA resources. The session will provide best practices as well as common pitfalls of difficult conversations.
Register for all sessions through absorb.skillsusa.org. Learn more about these and other Fall professional development offerings from SkillsUSA's online training calendar. For questions, contact Karolina Belen.
Support the Trades in Fashion
SkillsUSA teamed up with Tractor Supply Company (TSC) and Carhartt for the “Support the Trades” campaign to raise awareness of SkillsUSA and help close the skilled trades gap. Carhartt and TSC are offering an expanded “Support the
Trades” line of shirts and hats designed by Carhartt, with a portion of the proceeds being donated to SkillsUSA! Show your pride for the skilled trades you proudly represent and the “Champions at Work” who keep our nation moving. The exclusive T-shirts and hats for women and men are now available at Tractor Supply Online or your local TSC store. Check out this promotional video and follow the campaign on SkillsUSA’s social media this fall.
Registration Open for ELEVATE!
The SkillsUSA Elevate Chapter Officer Development Conference is Oct. 19 from 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m. ET. Plan now to attend this virtual interactive experience for local officer teams that focuses on building successful chapters by equipping officers with the skills to lead and serve their local members. Elevate is open to all SkillsUSA local chapter officers. At least one advisor must participate with each team. Participate right from your classroom, and the cost is only $10 per participant. Register through the membership site here.
Registration closes Oct. 5.
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