Every year, usually in February, top high-school athletes bask beneath the media spotlight as they sign a binding letter of intent to play a particular sport for a particular school. SkillsUSA recently decided that spotlight is big enough to share, a decision that led to the first SkillsUSA National Signing Day last May.
Sponsored by Klein Tools, the day celebrated 3,000 students in 300 SkillsUSA high-school chapters across the country for their dedication to pursuing careers in the skilled trades. Students were applauded as they signed letters of intent for job offers, apprenticeships or advanced training.
San Francisco 49ers quarter-back Jimmy Garoppolo served as spokesperson for the event at Silicon Valley Career Technical Education Center in San Jose, Calif. Along with Klein Tools president Mark Klein, SkillsUSA executive director Tim Lawrence and WorldSkills USA team member Ethan Harrison, Garop- polo was joined by his father, Tony, a recently retired career electrician.
With huge national coverage from ESPN, NFL Live, Yahoo Sports and more, it was a great start to a new skilled trades tradition. For more, • visit: tinyurl.com/skillsusa-signing.
