Marion County hosts over 1,400 students for 2024 SkillsUSA West Virginia Championship

She gets excited for the championship every year, and has been very impressed with the work the students are doing, said SkillsUSA West Virginia State Conference Director Melissa Wilkinson.

“This is the career technical education Olympics for the students of West Virginia,” she said. “This is where all of the students come to showcase their skills in 98 different contests. We have 1,449 students registered for the conference this year. They’re competing in things like carpentry, cosmetology, welding, robotics and architectural drafting.”

The competitions are judged by industry union representatives and professionals, who often recruit high-performing students for jobs after they graduate, Wilkinson said.

“This is our future workforce, all right here (in Marion County),” she said. “(The professionals) are all actively recruiting these kids to go to work or to the military or state police.”

While the majority of the competitions were held on Fairmont State University’s campus, other sites, such as the Marion County Technical Center, hosted events, as well.

Jay Michael, principal at the technical center, said 59 of the center’s students are competing in the championship this year.

“This is such a great collaboration piece with all of the other tech centers around the state,” he said. They came from Charleston and Huntington and the Eastern Panhandle.”