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North Carolina students place second at SkillsUSA National Championships

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North Carolina students, ranging from middle school to community college, earned the second highest number of medals at the 61st annual SkillsUSA National Championships, according to a recent press release. The competition is the “premier showcase of America’s most highly skilled career and technical education students,” per SkillsUSA’s website.

“North Carolina students just brought home 79 medals from the SkillsUSA national championships, second in the country,” said State Superintendent Maurice “Mo” Green in the press release. “These young people represent the very best of career and technical education in our state, and they are extraordinary proof that the future workforce of North Carolina is being built right now — in our public schools and our community colleges alike.”

The competition took place earlier this month in Atlanta, hosting more that 19,000 registrants and 7,000 competitors from across the country. North Carolina was represented by 530 students, instructors, administrators, parents, and supporters from 74 schools and colleges statewide, the release says.

According to SkillsUSA, the philosophy of the competition is “to reward students for excellence, to involve industry in directly evaluating student performance, and to keep classroom training relevant to employers’ needs.” In order to advance to the national championship, students had to earn first place in their event at the SkillsUSA North Carolina State Conference in April.

The press release noted that 270 North Carolina students competed in 178 contests. Of the 121 N.C. Community College System (NCCCCS) contestants, the release says 39% earned medals and 88% finished in the top ten of their national contests. At the high-school level, 129 students competed, with 17% medaling and 47% finishing in the top ten. In middle school, the release says 20 students competed, with 50% earning a medal and 100% finishing in the top ten of their event.

“These results prove our students are among the best in the country,” NCCCS President Dr. Jeff Cox said in the release. “The second-highest medal count in the nation reflects the rigorous, high-caliber technical education happening in our classrooms every day.”

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In recent years, North Carolina has been one of many states to increase its emphasis on the importance of workforce and technical training. In fact, 2024-2025 was a record-setting school year for career and technical education (CTE), with students earning 382,964 industry-recognized credentials, the most in N.C. history.

In the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) release, Senior Director of CTE Trey Michael said that the SkillsUSA competitions “put our students face-to-face with the standards of industry.”

“Whether they competed in welding, dental assisting, cyber security, mobile robotics or video production, these students performed at the level employers expect,” Michael said. “Earning the second-highest medal count in the nation tells me that North Carolina’s CTE programs are doing exactly what they should be doing: preparing students for real careers in real industries.”

Below is a breakdown of the medals earned by North Carolina students:

  • Community colleges (postsecondary): 121 student-contestants, 47 medals, 106 placing in the top ten (88%).
  • High school: 129 student-contestants, 22 medals, 60 placing in the top ten (47%).
  • Middle school: 20 student-contestants, 10 medals, all 20 placing in the top ten.

“We could not be prouder of these student champions and the dedicated instructors who prepared them to lead and excel in an evolving economy,” Cox said.

Read the full breakdown of the accolades won by North Carolina students at the competition here.