Cameron Metz, left, placed first in the Culinary Arts SkillsUSA competition at Locklin Technical Center. Daniel Helno was the second-place winner.

The SkillsUSA competition showcases the best career and technical education students in the Northwest Florida region.

The philosophy of the competition is to reward students for excellence, to involve industry in evaluating student performance and to keep training relevant to employers’ desires and needs.

In Santa Rosa County School District, 63 students enrolled in Career and Technical Education programs at Locklin Technical Center competed in the Region 1 Skills USA Competition on Feb, 23 and Feb. 24.

The students are enrolled in technical programs ranging from Automotive Service and Computer Systems & Information technologies to Commercial Food & Culinary Arts and Practical Nursing.

During the two-day event, competitions included comprehension-based exams, as well as hands-on skill assessments.

Our economy is linked to the strength and skills of our current and future workforce. We must work to ensure that students of all ages are prepared not only for college but for successful careers.

Career readiness and employability skills become an increasingly critical part of education. Employers are desperately seeking people with a combination of skills that seem to fall under career readiness and the technical education umbrella that also include an array of career options.

Today’s workforce education prepares students for a wide range of high-wage, high-skill, in-demand career pathways through a career academy model. Santa Rosa County School District career academies focus on providing students with those skills necessary to compete in the global economy.

Career academies are learning communities in middle or high schools that focus on a career pathway for a two-, three- or four-year span. Students take career and academic classes and can earn industry certification relevant. Students' senior year may include clinicals or internships.

Santa Rosa County has about 48 career academies, while Escambia County has about 60.

Piggybacking on the skills and training students gain in career academies, events like SkillsUSA are creating an educational environment that combines technical training with real-life application.

Alex Hamid cuts a metal pipe in the SkillsUSA competition at Locklin Technical Center. Hamid placed first in Electrical Construction Wiring.

SkillsUSA is a nationally recognized program that serves as a partnership between students, teachers and industry to ensure that the country has a skilled workforce. It teaches leadership skills, teamwork, citizenship and character development.

A collaboration of these groups provides students with the opportunity to apply and practice quality work in their prospective fields.

More than 350,000 students across the country participate in SkillsUSA. Advisers and CTE instructors are trained to provide high-quality technical and academic skills to all students.

Each first- and second-place winners will go on to compete in the State Skills USA competition in April.

The regional event sites included Locklin Tech, George-Stone Technical Center, Pensacola State College Main Campus, and Haney Technical Center in Panama City.

Both high school and adult students throughout Region 1 tested knowledge and skills learned in their program areas to qualify for the state competition in Lakeland, on April 24 through April 27.