Welcome to The Advisor Five: The top five topics that will set you up for success! We welcome you to another great school year and look forward to partnering with you to enhance student lives!
Upcoming Dates/Deadlines
State Officer Candidate Application
Jan. 12: State Officer Application Deadline
Region Championships
Jan. 9: Wild Card Testing
Jan.11: Wild Card Testing
Now - Jan. 11: TeamWorks Testing
Jan. 12: TeamWorks Qualifiers Announced
State Leadership and Skills Conference
Dec. 22: CEP Level 2 Deadline
Jan. 8: Membership Registration Deadline to be Eligible to Attend
Jan. 9: Registration Opens
Jan. 9: Hotel Planner Opens
Jan. 19: Advisor of the Year Application Deadline
Jan. 23: Registration Closes
Jan. 23: Hotel Planner Deadline
Jan. 25: Invoices Emailed to Advisors
Jan. 29: Testing Opens
Feb. 9: Testing Closes
Feb. 9: Payment Due
Feb. 9: Assurance and Advisor Code of Conduct Forms Due
Feb. 16 Pre-Submission Contests Deadlines
Feb. 16: Resume Uploads Due
Classroom Activity
To Do List is a great activity to teach students about planning, organizing and management by prioritizing their To Do List. The Framework component covered in this activity is Workplace Skills. To Do List focuses on the Essential Element of Planning, Organizing, & Management. This activity also connects to Georgia Performance Standard #1.
SkillsUSA Scholarships
One of the greatest benefits of student membership in SkillsUSA is the opportunity to earn scholarships. Students must be registered members and have paid both state and national dues to be eligible for scholarships through SkillsUSA or its partners. Scholarships are offered in several areas. Some are based on merit while others are related to financial need and some are presented to the medalists of the SkillsUSA Championships.
These are competitive opportunities so be sure to carefully review the requirements. If selected, students must complete a SkillsUSA Scholarship Acceptance Form. Payment will be sent directly to the educational institution to be applied toward the recipient’s tuition bill.
Check out the SkillsUSA-related Scholarships and Grants by visiting the SkillsUSA website where all opportunities are listed and new scholarships are updated frequently!
Region Championship
TeamWorks
Congratulations to our TeamWorks qualifiers! These seven schools will advance to SkillsUSA Georgia State Leadership and Skills Conference (SLSC).
Qualified via AGC Skills Challenges
Chattooga High School
Fannin County High School
Roswell High School
West Laurens High School
Attended AGC Skills Challenges and Qualified via Online Exam
Camden County High School
Gordon Central High School
Marietta High School
We have three spots remaining for TeamWorks at SLSC. Rather than leaving these spots unfilled, we are excited to announce that we will reopen TeamWorks, giving three additional chapters an opportunity to participate in this competition and showcase their skills at the state level.
To secure one of the remaining three TeamWorks spots at SLSC, all four team members must complete their designated test by January 11, 2024. Individual scores will be averaged to determine a team score, and the top three team scores will earn the remaining three qualifying spots for SLSC. This online exam is open to all construction training programs, whether or not they participated in the AGC Skills Challenges. The last three qualifiers will be announced on January 12, 2024.
Congratulations to our qualifying teams and best of luck to our prospective competitors! We appreciate your patience as we fine-tune this process. We are actively collaborating with AGC Georgia to streamline and enhance this process for next year. Our goal is to offer TeamWorks in its true form at future AGC Skills Challenges, eliminating the need for a testing process altogether and allowing students to demonstrate their technical skills physically.
To see a full communication timeline of the TeamWorks competition update please see the following document: TeamWorks Updates. Thank you for your continued support and understanding as we strive to make TeamWorks and other competitions a rewarding experience for all participants
Wild Card Testing
In addition, all region contests will have an optional Wild Card testing component. The Wild Card exam is a SkillsUSA knowledge test (similar to the Professional Development test). The test scores will be used to fill slots that didn't fill due to lack of participation in other regions. In other words, taking this test could be your ticket to SLSC! Students must be registered for Region Championships and competed in a hands-on event to qualify for Wild Card testing.
The Wild Card exam will be open on January 9 and 11.
Crime Scene Investigation
Update: There will NOT be a hands-on component this year at Region Championships. All registered teams will advance to the State Leadership and Skills Conference. Please see the official update from the contest chairperson here.
Video News Production
Prompt Release Date
The Video News Production Project Prompt will be released on Wednesday, January 3.
Submission Deadline
The Video News Production Project submission deadline is Friday, January 12 by 5:00 p.m.
SLSC Lookup Tool
We are excited to announce that the 2024 State Leadership and Skills Conference Lookup Tool has been finalized! The Lookup Tool allows advisors and competitors to search for a competition via the dropdown menu. It provides quick information such as:
SLSC Format (On-Site/Online/Pre-Submission)
Region Qualifier (Yes/No)
Advance to NLSC (Yes/No)
# of Competitors
Competition Clothing
Competition Standards
Resume Upload
Competition Updates
To learn more about a competition, click Competition Rules. For national competitions, you will be directed toward SkillsUSA Absorb (to access Technical Standards). For SkillsUSA Georgia-Only standards, a document will populate on your screen and is available for download.
To access the Lookup Tool please click here. We hope that this resource allows you and your competitors to feel set up for success for the 2024 State Leadership and Skills Conference!
Value of Social Media
Social media is a powerful presence in the lives of SkillsUSA members. Not only is information readily available for consumption, but the information is also curated to grab the user’s attention. SkillsUSA can connect with members through social media to inspire action, create awareness, and showcase the SkillsUSA community.
Social media can be an incredible tool that inspires action. This tool allows users to visualize the work that is being done in different communities and in SkillsUSA chapters.
As a student-led organization, SkillsUSA encourages student members to apply Essential Element skills like responsibility and planning, organizing and management through the practice of running a SkillsUSA chapter. SkillsUSA utilizes social media to create awareness around events, conferences, scholarships, dates and deadlines.
SkillsUSA is an organization comprised of members of different ages, races, religions, backgrounds and interests. Showcasing SkillsUSA members through social media allows members of the SkillsUSA community to identify and make connections with other members. Encourage your members to be participants in the SkillsUSA online community! Empower your members to showcase their SkillsUSA experience by tagging “SkillsUSAGA” in their posts.
The SkillsUSA Store Featured Collection
Hats off to the holidays! Get ready for winter and shop the Hats and Accessories collection, featuring both classic and trendy caps, beanies and more. These make a great holiday gift for advisors, student leaders and supporters. The SkillsUSA Store has everything from scripted luxe embroidery to custom patches, curved visors and cozy knit pieces!
Get Recognized for a Successful SkillsUSA Chapter
If you’re having a great year in SkillsUSA, why not be recognized for it? Did you elect officers, hold chapter meetings and engage in chapter activities? Take it to the next level by completing the Chapter Excellence Program (CEP) Quality Chapter application and receive the recognition your chapter has earned.
The online CEP application is on the main page of the membership registration site. Once you log into your school account, follow these directions for accessing the application. See the “Build a Successful SkillsUSA Chapter Teacher’s Guide 2.0”for easy steps to follow to complete the application, engage students in the process and infuse the SkillsUSA Framework into chapter activities.
For questions or help with your CEP application, contact the SkillsUSA Customer Care at 844-875-4557 or by email. You can also utilize a one-on-one coaching session with our CEP and Program of Work (PoW) coach, Kelli Engelbrecht. Schedule your 30-minute Zoom coaching appointment here. During the coaching session, learn how to integrate the SkillsUSA Framework, articulate your SMART goals and select and evaluate SkillsUSA Framework Essential Elements within your CEP application.