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Students represented U.S. at WorldSkills Competition held Sept. 10-15 in Lyon, France
Leesburg, Va., Sept. 18, 2024 — SkillsUSA competitor Wyatt Hansen, age 20, of Utah won a bronze medal in Welding at the WorldSkills Competition,
held Sept. 10-15 at Eurexpo in Lyon, France. SkillsUSA competitor Nathan Bulthuis, age 20, from Illinois competing in Automotive Technology and Cale Mouser, age 22, of Kansas competing in Heavy Vehicle Technology each received a Medallion of Excellence. A Medallion of Excellence is awarded to competitors who have accumulated a threshold score but do not medal. Gabe Eady, age 22, received the Best of Nation in Mechatronics. Best of Nation rewards the best competitor from each country or region represented, all skills included. Hansen, Bulthuis, Mouser and Eady were four of just seven young U.S. competitors at the 2024 WorldSkills, which is held every two years around the world.
“Feels pretty good!” Hansen said of winning at the international competition. “We had a rough start, so we’ll take the bronze considering the week!” Hansen said. He is a welding student at Utah State University Eastern (USUE) in Price, Utah who represented Utah at the SkillsUSA Championships in 2022 and 2023, earning a national gold medal in Welding in 2023. He says, “It’s been a privilege to be a part of the team and an honor to represent the U.S. in Lyon, France. I’ve dreamed of being a WorldSkills competitor. I’ve been training 15-16 hours a day, six to seven days a week for the past eight months to get where I am today. I’m grateful to my welding instructors from USUE, my high school instructors, my employer and my family and friends.” His expert was Ray Connelly.
Bulthuis, a former student at Lockport Township High School and Joliet (Ill.) Junior College, is attending Southern Illinois University Carbondale studying for a bachelor’s in automotive technology. Bulthuis represented Illinois at the SkillsUSA Championships in 2023, winning a national gold medal in the Automotive Service Technology competition. He says, “Being selected for the 2024 WorldSkills USA team has been an amazing opportunity to learn more about my trade and to improve my skills. It is also a great opportunity to be able to represent the United States in an international competition.” His expert was Mike Elder.
Mouser graduated from the North Dakota State College of Science with a degree in Diesel Technology and is employed by Agri Trails Co-op in Hope, Kan. as a service technician. He represented North Dakota at the SkillsUSA Championships in 2022 and 2023 and won a national bronze medal in 2022 and a national gold medal in 2023 in Diesel Equipment Technology. He says, “It is impossible to put into words what an honor it is to represent the United States on a global level.” His expert was Tom Wozniak.
Eady attended Roane State Community College in Harriman, Tenn. and was part of the state and national gold medalist team in the SkillsUSA Championships in 2023. He is employed at DENSO as a technician at the automotive supplier’s Maryville, Tenn., manufacturing facility where he is responsible for creating, installing, maintaining, troubleshooting and repairing electrical systems. His expert was Josh Whittington.
Encountering so many new cultures and being able to create new friendships across the globe was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Hansen and the other competitors as well as for the technical experts and the SkillsUSA staff that traveled to Lyon to support the students. “Seeing this WorldSkills USA team compete in Lyon gives me great hope for the future of our U.S. skilled and professional workforce. Each competitor demonstrated a high level of technical skill as well as exhibiting composure under pressure, good decision making and excellent time management. We are so proud of this team,” said Chelle Travis, executive director of SkillsUSA.
Each competitor was supported by various companies that made the training possible, with an assigned industry expert to oversee their training in the months leading up to the competition.
Guiding the 2024 team of experts and competitors were technical delegate Scott Norman and SkillsUSA Championships director Brandon Hudson and team leader Craig Moore. Hudson says, “This 2024 WorldSkills USA team worked hard, and the competition was challenging. We thank our experts and industry sponsors as well as the many supporters rooting us on. It has been incredible for each competitor to have this unique opportunity to represent their nation while gaining greater skill in a craft they love.”
Scott Norman, who is professor of automotive and engineering technology at Pittsburg State University (Kan.), serves as the U.S. Technical Delegate to WorldSkills and oversees the US experts for training of the competitors and handles the team’s travel and logistics. He also works with WorldSkills International to help manage the competition. “It’s amazing to watch each competitor go through this process, honing skills and developing confidence as they prepare. Once onsite, each competitor is tested in their technical skills, but they are also stretched in their personal and workplace skills. The ability to concentrate, to work through the inevitable challenges, to manage time efficiently and to complete the assigned tasks is just not easy. Win or lose, each competitor has a unique experience at WorldSkills that will stay with them throughout their career.”
Each competitor was supported by various companies that made their training possible, with a seasoned industry expert to oversee their training in the months leading up to the competition. Training took place at a variety of locations at industry and technical schools nationwide to prepare each student for their unique event. Representing the U.S. in Lyon were:
WorldSkills Lyon 2024 was the site for the 47th WorldSkills Competition, which brought together 1,400 competitors from over 70 countries and regions competing in 59 skills in front of 250,000 visitors. For more information see the WorldSkills USA microsite and Craig Moore’s photos of the competition are available here.
SkillsUSA is the #1 workforce development organization for students, empowering them to become skilled professionals, career-ready leaders and responsible community members. SkillsUSA represents more than 413,000 career and technical education students and teachers in middle schools, high schools and college/postsecondary institutions nationwide. Those members represent 130 in-demand occupational areas, from 3-D animation to welding. A vital solution to the skills gap, SkillsUSA has served nearly 15 million members since its founding in 1965. Learn more at skillsusa.org and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, X and LinkedIn.
Every two years, competitors from 85 countries and regions around the world compete in more than 60 different trade skills at WorldSkills. The next WorldSkills competition takes place Sept. 10-15, 2024, in Lyon, France, showcasing trade skills from construction and building technology, creative arts and fashion, information and communication technology to manufacturing and engineering, personal services and transportation and logistics. Since 1950, WorldSkills has come to symbolize the pinnacle of excellence in vocational training. It provides a unique means of exchange and comparison of world-class competency standards in the industrial trades and service sectors of the global economy. The continued growth of WorldSkills attests to the fact that traditional trade and craft skills, along with newer technology’s multi-skilled occupations, make an essential contribution to the economic and social well-being of people everywhere. For more information, go to: www.worldskills.org.
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