John O
May 3rd 06, 01:53 PM
Most of you have probably never heard of SkillsUSA, which is an organization
for students attending tech schools. (see www.skillsusa.org) Every year they
hold a massive conference in Kansas City, drawing some 4,100 contestants to
over 70 different skills contests. The contests cover everything, topics
such as masonry, auto body repair, commercial baking, cosmetology, web
design, and many more. It's truly an amazing thing to see.
I run the Computer Maintenance Technology contest, which challenges about 70
of those 4,100 students. We throw all sorts of difficult problems at the
students, then send them to take the A+ exam, and the winners are presented
with medals in front of 15,000 people at Kemper Arena. The 11th edition of
this computer contest will be held June 21-22.
The primary purpose of the contest is to determine if the students are ready
for entry-level employment in the IT industry. The hands-on contest is best
compared to a practical exam for A+. The student-contestants have to perform
the skills. These contestants have won local, regional, and state contests
to earn the trip to Kansas City, and most of them are very good, though
often inexperienced. The winners are truly gifted technicians, the type of
person you definitely want to hire.
I need industry support for the contest, real professionals who do these
tasks for a living. I also need prizes for the winners. If you can support
the contest in some way, you can get access to these "cream of the crop"
technicians...I have their resumes when the contest is over and if you are
there you can give them a business card or schedule an interview. By the
way, one of our judges is a guy named Mike who wrote a few books about A+
and Network+.... I also get a group of the top Geek Squad agents as judges,
guys who are incredibly sharp.
There are a million little details, but here's a copy of a note I recently
sent to a prospective judge to help convince his boss to let him come and
help:
The contest was created to identify the readiness of students for
entry-level jobs. By creating a skills contest with the support of industry
itself, students get a direct look at the types of skills they must possess
to be productive workers. The students have spent plenty of time with their
instructors and teachers, but this time spent with industry representatives
is some of the most important time they get as students.
From the perspective of the industry representatives who run and support the
contest, there is an incredible opportunity to get the resumes of the best
and brightest student-technicians in the US. They are required to bring
resumes, and judges are encouraged to contact those students who might be
good prospects for open positions, or hand out business cards.
You get a first-person look at how well your future employees are being
trained, and an opportunity to talk to their teachers. In the end, you are
directly influencing what skills are being taught within the technical
schools in your state, as well as how the skills are ultimately taught.
Discussions with teachers from your state can be incredibly valuable, as
those instructors always want to know what will make their students more
employable. In the end, those discussions benefit employers.
Judges get a chance to network with other professionals from their field, as
well as some of the major publishers of technical training programs. This
informal sharing of ideas and personal networking is similar to attendance
at trade shows.
See http://skillsusa.org/about/index.shtml and
http://skillsusa.org/compete/skills.shtml for details about SkillsUSA, and
www.heathkit.com/cmt and http://www.heathkit.com/cmt/action.htm for details
about the contest itself, and what it means to be a sponsor.
John Oliphant
Technical Committee Chair
SkillsUSA Computer Maintenance Technology Contest
for students attending tech schools. (see www.skillsusa.org) Every year they
hold a massive conference in Kansas City, drawing some 4,100 contestants to
over 70 different skills contests. The contests cover everything, topics
such as masonry, auto body repair, commercial baking, cosmetology, web
design, and many more. It's truly an amazing thing to see.
I run the Computer Maintenance Technology contest, which challenges about 70
of those 4,100 students. We throw all sorts of difficult problems at the
students, then send them to take the A+ exam, and the winners are presented
with medals in front of 15,000 people at Kemper Arena. The 11th edition of
this computer contest will be held June 21-22.
The primary purpose of the contest is to determine if the students are ready
for entry-level employment in the IT industry. The hands-on contest is best
compared to a practical exam for A+. The student-contestants have to perform
the skills. These contestants have won local, regional, and state contests
to earn the trip to Kansas City, and most of them are very good, though
often inexperienced. The winners are truly gifted technicians, the type of
person you definitely want to hire.
I need industry support for the contest, real professionals who do these
tasks for a living. I also need prizes for the winners. If you can support
the contest in some way, you can get access to these "cream of the crop"
technicians...I have their resumes when the contest is over and if you are
there you can give them a business card or schedule an interview. By the
way, one of our judges is a guy named Mike who wrote a few books about A+
and Network+.... I also get a group of the top Geek Squad agents as judges,
guys who are incredibly sharp.
There are a million little details, but here's a copy of a note I recently
sent to a prospective judge to help convince his boss to let him come and
help:
The contest was created to identify the readiness of students for
entry-level jobs. By creating a skills contest with the support of industry
itself, students get a direct look at the types of skills they must possess
to be productive workers. The students have spent plenty of time with their
instructors and teachers, but this time spent with industry representatives
is some of the most important time they get as students.
From the perspective of the industry representatives who run and support the
contest, there is an incredible opportunity to get the resumes of the best
and brightest student-technicians in the US. They are required to bring
resumes, and judges are encouraged to contact those students who might be
good prospects for open positions, or hand out business cards.
You get a first-person look at how well your future employees are being
trained, and an opportunity to talk to their teachers. In the end, you are
directly influencing what skills are being taught within the technical
schools in your state, as well as how the skills are ultimately taught.
Discussions with teachers from your state can be incredibly valuable, as
those instructors always want to know what will make their students more
employable. In the end, those discussions benefit employers.
Judges get a chance to network with other professionals from their field, as
well as some of the major publishers of technical training programs. This
informal sharing of ideas and personal networking is similar to attendance
at trade shows.
See http://skillsusa.org/about/index.shtml and
http://skillsusa.org/compete/skills.shtml for details about SkillsUSA, and
www.heathkit.com/cmt and http://www.heathkit.com/cmt/action.htm for details
about the contest itself, and what it means to be a sponsor.
John Oliphant
Technical Committee Chair
SkillsUSA Computer Maintenance Technology Contest