WorldSkills International
WorldSkills International is a global, member-driven organization that works through collaborative efforts to raise the awareness of skilled professions. Currently, there are 77 member countries and regions. WorldSkills was founded in 1950. In 1973, President Richard M. Nixon recognized SkillsUSA (then known as VICA) as the official U.S. representative. The United States first entered the WorldSkills Competition in 1975, represented by the SkillsUSA organization. The next WorldSkills Competition will be held in Shanghai, China, in 2021. Download the WorldSkills USA team fact sheet.
About SkillsUSA
SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers and industry working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce. SkillsUSA helps each student excel.
SkillsUSA empowers its members to become world-class workers, leaders and responsible American citizens. SkillsUSA improves the quality of our nation’s future skilled workforce through the development of Framework skills that include personal, workplace and technical skills grounded in academics. SkillsUSA serves more than 335,000 students and instructors annually. This includes 19,500 instructors who join as professional members. Including alumni, SkillsUSA membership totals over 395,000. SkillsUSA has served more than 12.5 million annual members cumulatively since 1965.
SkillsUSA is a vital solution to the growing U.S. skills gap. This nonprofit partnership of students, instructors and industry ensures America has the skilled workforce it needs to stay competitive. Founded in 1965 and endorsed by the U.S. Department of Education, the association serves more than 300,000 member students and instructors each year in middle schools, high schools and colleges. This diverse talent pipeline covers 130 trade, technical and skilled service occupations, the majority STEM-related. More than 600 corporations, trade associations, businesses and labor unions actively support SkillsUSA at the national level. SkillsUSA programs are integrated into career and technical education through a framework of personal, workplace and technical skills grounded in academics. Local, state and national championships, designed and judged by industry, set relevant standards for career and technical education and provide needed recognition to its students. SkillsUSA also offers technical skill assessments and other workplace credentials.
