MTI wins 50 medals—most in nation—at 50th SkillsUSA Championships

(Bradenton, FL—July 1, 2014) With a win of 50 medals, Manatee Technical Institute students won more medals than any other school in the nation at the 50th Annual SkillsUSA Championships, a showcase of career and technical education students. This is the 11th year in a row that MTI has won the most medals.
Manatee Tech had 50 national champions, bringing home 18 gold, 20 silver and 12 bronze medals in 20 events. More than 5,800 students—all state contest winners—competed in more than 100 different trade, technical and leadership team and individual contests during the weeklong event, which was held June 22-27 in Kansas City, Missouri.
MTI students placed in the top three in the nation in occupational areas like broadcast news production, building maintenance, criminal justice, firefighting, nurse assisting and web design. They also placed in leadership skills such as chapter business procedure and prepared speech. To prove their expertise, students had to work against the clock and each other.
The theme of this year’s conference was Champions at Work: Educated and Skilled to Lead America. Contest competencies are set by industry. According to students who compete, the SkillsUSA Championships are like the Olympics for career and technical education.
The philosophy of the Championships is to reward students for excellence, to involve industry in directly evaluating student performance and to keep training relevant to employers’ needs. Contest organizers from labor and management make the national event possible.
Florida students won 94 medals, with MTI students winning more than half of them. The community may go to /about/awards/ to see a list of winners.