Belton students honored, take home medals at annual SkillsUSA Workforce Development Event in Atlanta

Special to the Journal

USA Championships, held in Atlanta June 25-26. The event is a national showcase of career and technical education.

The SkillsUSA Championships is the largest skill competition in the world and covers 1.79 million square feet, equivalent to 31 football fields or 41 acres.

Among them were students from Belton High School and Lake Belton High School, who were awarded medals and a Skill Point Certificate, respectively.

Team E, consisting of James Clark, Jospeh Fuentes, Erik Schiller, Bryson Necessary, from Belton High School was awarded the High School Silver medal in TeamWorks. Likewise, Ryan McGinnis, a student at Lake Belton High School, was awarded a Skill Point Certificate in T-Shirt Design.

First place state winners were invited to the event to demonstrate their technical skills, workplace skills and personal skills in 114 hands-on occupational and leadership competitions including robotics, automotive technology, drafting, criminal justice, aviation maintenance and public speaking. Industry leaders from 850 businesses, corporations, trade associations and unions planned and

evaluated the contestants against their standards for entry level workers.

More than 1,200 industry judges and technical committee members participated this year.

All SkillsUSA Championships competitors were honored on Friday night, June 27 at the closing SkillsUSA Awards Session at State Farm Arena.

As an indicator of proficiency, Skill Point Certificates were awarded to the national contestants who met a predetermined threshold contest score for their SkillsUSA event, demonstrating workplace readiness. Students can add this certificate to an employment portfolio.

A total of 1,250 gold, silver and bronze medals were presented to students on Friday night, June 27 at the SkillsUSA Awards Session. Many winners also received industry prizes, tools of their trade or scholarships.

“More than 6,500 students from every state in the nation participated in the 2025 SkillsUSA Championships,” said SkillsUSA Executive Director Chelle Travis. “This showcase of career and technical education demonstrates SkillsUSA at its finest. Our students, instructors and industry partners work together to ensure that every student excels. This program expands learning and career opportunities for our members.”

The SkillsUSA Championships event is held annually for students in middle school, high school or college/ postsecondary programs as part of the SkillsUSA National Leadership & Skills Conference. The national, nonprofit partnership of students, instructors and industry is a verified talent pipeline for America’s skilled workforce that is working to help solve the skills gap.