SkillsUSA brings national conference back to Atlanta

ATLANTA - Atlanta’s Georgia World Congress Center has hosted many major competitions since it opened in 1976 — and over the next few days, more than a hundred more will be added to the list.

The SkillsUSA National Leadership & Skills Conference is back at the Georgia World Congress Center this week, drawing more than 15,000 people to the Downtown Atlanta venue through Friday. The conference is a massive annual gathering for students, instructors, and others involved with SkillsUSA, an organization which prepares students for careers in trade, technical, and skilled service occupations. The goal of the organization is to make sure America’s skilled workforce is a robust one, and the National Leadership & Skills Conference is major part of that process, providing networking opportunities for attendees.

But…back to that whole competition thing. Another key element of the annual conference is SkillsUSA Championships, during which thousands of students compete in more than a hundred skills-based competitions. Competitors have all already won state competitions, which means the best of the best are competing in fields including electronics, culinary arts, welding, medical assisting, and more.

We spent a morning cheering on the competitors during last year’s SkillsUSA National Leadership & Skills Conference — and we couldn’t wait to do it again this year. Click the video player in this article to check out our morning at the Georgia World Congress Center — and click here for more information on SkillsUSA.