(July 2008) — When skill meets opportunity, something amazing happens—something called success. And when thousands of skilled young workers from all over the U.S. met at the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference in June, opportunity met skill head on and sparks flew. The opportunity to compete at a national level is at the heart of SkillsUSA, a partnership of students, teachers and industry working together to ensure America has a skilled work force. The participants brought the skill and hope of winning a gold, silver or bronze medal in their area of technical or trade expertise.

The 44th annual event in June in Kansas City was the largest SkillsUSA National Conference ever held. There were 5,000+ competitors, over 400 leaders from industry and government, with nearly 15,000 people attending overall. The four-day event included 91 hands-on skill and leadership competitions—from welding, mechatronics, robotics and automation technology to carpentry, commercial baking and cosmetology. The SkillsUSA Championship is open to its members in public high school and college/post-secondary technical students enrolled in trade, technical, and skilled service profession instructional programs.

Air Products has been a SkillsUSA corporate sponsor for the last two years. "It's not just about funding an amazing program," said Laurie Gostley-Hackett, Air Products Community Relations manager. "It's about inviting talented technical students who also have strong leadership skills to our plants to show them the opportunities and potential career paths at Air Products—and then having our employees get involved with schools as advisors, curriculum reviewers, guest speakers and mentors to talk about the real working world."

In addition to the competition, the conference also featured a TECHSPO and Career Fair, in which Air Products participated. Each showcased a variety of exhibits including college opportunities, career-training materials, career recruiting services, and new information technology.

"As the demographics of our workforce change, this program will be an important part of our recruiting strategy," said Robin Lysek, Human Resources-Central Staffing manager. "Each year we need to hire a few hundred people with technical and trade experience. And clearly, we want to talk to these students who are the best of the best."

"Our partnership with SkillsUSA at the national, state and local levels is a priority for us," added Joe Pietrantonio, vice president, Global Operations and Air Products/SkillsUSA executive champion. "We look forward to connecting with this new workforce who not only has outstanding technical expertise but also is skilled in communication and leadership . . . qualities we value throughout Air Products."

Show it to the judge: In the Diesel Equipment Technology category, Air Products' Martin Jenkins of Conyers, Georgia, volunteers as a SkillsUSA Competition judge. He critiques students on their use of precision measuring instruments (i.e., checking fits, clearances, unit timing, etc.).

That's a lot of identical fender benders! In the Collision Repair Technology category, contestants have to show their skills and their speed as judges look on.