BCTC RANKS FIRST AND THIRD AT NATIONAL SKILLS COMPETITION

Two recent graduates of the Berks Career and Technology Center were awarded national honors at the 39th annual National Leadership and Skills Conference and SkillsUSA Championships. The competition was held in Kansas City, Missouri, in June.

Nathan D. Heimbach, a graduate of Boyertown Area Senior High School, took first place in the Power Equipment Technology competition. Heimbach was a student in BCTC’s Recreational and Power Equipment Technology program. At the state competition held in the spring, Heimbach captured first place and a gold medal in the same category. His career plans include attending Motorcycle Mechanics Institute in Florida.

Lee M. Styer, a graduate of BCTC’s Culinary Arts program and Governor Mifflin High School, placed third in the Culinary Arts competition at nationals. During the SkillsUSA State Leadership Conference, Styer took first place and a gold medal in the category. This fall, he plans to attend the Culinary Institute of America, located in Hyde Park, New York. The SkillsUSA Championships are for high school and college-level students who are members of SkillsUSA-VICA. More than 4,000 students from every state and three territories competed in 75 contests in technical, skilled, and service occupations, including health occupations this year. In order to qualify for the national competition, the students competed in local and state contests. The state gold medal winners advanced to the national SkillsUSA Championships.

The SkillsUSA Championship is considered the largest single day of corporate volunteerism in America and valued at $25 million in industry support of donated time, equipment, cash, and material. All contests are run by and judged by industry using industry standards for employment. Over 1,000 industry judges participated this year.

Working against the clock and each other, the participants proved their expertise in job skills for occupations such as electronics, technical drafting, precision machining, medical assisting, and culinary arts. There were also competitions in leadership skills, such as extemporaneous speaking and conducting meetings by parliamentary procedures.

The contests are planned by technical committees made up of representatives of labor and management and are designed to test the skills needed for successful entry-level performance in given occupational fields. Safety practices and procedures - an area of great concern to labor and management alike - are judged and graded and constitute a portion of a contestant’s score. All winners received medallions and tools of their trade and/or scholarships to further their careers and education.

SkillsUSA-VICA is the national organization for students in trade, industrial, technical, and health occupations education. It sponsors the SkillsUSA Championships annually to recognize the achievements of vocational students and to encourage them to strive for excellence and pride in their chosen occupations.