Justin Carlson (Austin), a Riverland Community College collision repair student, has won a gold medal in the Minnesota SkillsUSA contest in the collision repair competition. Carlson advances to the SkillsUSA Championship in Kansas City, Mo., June 25-27, as part of the SkillsUSA 49th annual National Leadership and Skills Conference (NLSC), a showcase of career and technical education students. During the week, more than 5,900 outstanding career and technical education students—all state contest winners compete hands-on in 98 different trade, technical and leadership fields.

During the national competition, Carlson and other students work against the clock and each other, proving their expertise in occupations like electronics, computer-aided drafting, precision machining, medical assisting and culinary arts. All contests are run with the help of industry, trade associations, and labor organizations, and test competencies are set by industry. In addition, leadership contestants demonstrate their skills, which include extemporaneous speaking and conducting meetings by parliamentary procedure.

Top student winners receive gold, silver and bronze medallions. Many also receive prizes such as tools of their trade and/or scholarships to further their careers and education. The SkillsUSA Championships is for high school and college-level students who are members of SkillsUSA.

High scorers in the contests received Skill Point Certificates. The Skill Point Certificate was awarded in 86 occupational and leadership areas to students who achieved a high score defined by industry. The SkillsUSA Championships have been a premier event since 1967.

SkillsUSA is a national partnership of students, teachers and industry, working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce. SkillsUSA chapters help students who are preparing for careers in technical, skilled and service occupations excel. SkillsUSA has more than 300,000 students and instructors as members. For more information, visit www.SkillsUSA.org.