District Administrators Corner

by Loren Glasbrenner,  River Valley School District Administrator  As a public school district, River Valley has to support the trades.  There is a gap in the number of candidates in relation to the openings in the skilled trades.  One of the ways we celebrate opportunities for skilled trades in River Valley is our SkillsUSA student team. SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers, and industry working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce.  It is a nonprofit national education association, which serves middle-school, high-school and college/postsecondary students preparing for careers in trade, technical, and skilled service (including health) occupations.  The mission statement delivers a strong recommendation to empower students.  “SkillsUSA empowers its members to become world-class workers, leaders, and responsible American citizens.  We improve the quality of our nation’s future skilled workforce through the development of SkillsUSA Framework skills that include personal, workplace, and technical skills grounded in academics. Our vision is to produce the most highly skilled workforce in the world, providing every member the opportunity for career success (skillsusa.org).” Currently, Tractor Supply Company and Carhartt clothing have partnered to support SkillsUSA.  There is an entire line of clothing highlighting the need to support the trades.  A portion of every item sold goes directly to SkillsUSA as it recognizes students learning to fill the gap.   Here are four quick statistics to further examine this gap in the United States: • 3 million trade jobs remain vacant in the United States. • The projection of construction jobs that will be needed by 2023 will rise by 2 million. • Finding workers is increasingly impossible to do in industry. • Nearly 25 percent of the manufacturing workforce is older than 55. The River Valley School District is determined to find ways to provide students with opportunities for post-secondary education--this includes students seeking college, apprenticeships, trades, or the military.  There are many avenues to success in society and SkillsUSA is a great start.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Carla Carmody (ccarmody@rvschools.org) at River Valley High School.  She works in a department of folks committed to keeping kids engaged and providing them opportunities that can lead to a career in skilled trades.  SkillsUSA believes in the dignity of work as part of the American way.  It is impossible to argue with the validity of that.