Photo by Craig Moore
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. Also earning honors at the event were Nathan Bulthuis, age 20, of Illinois competing in Automotive Technology and Cale Mouser, age 22, of Kansas competing in Heavy Vehicle Technology receiving Medallions of Excellence while Gabe Eady, age 22, earned the Best of Nation in Mechatronics. A Medallion of Excellence is awarded to competitors who have accumulated a threshold score but do not medal. 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 continuously 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’s hometown is Manhattan, Kan. He 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 the national gold medalist team in the SkillsUSA Championships in 2023. He is employed as 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,” said Chelle Travis, executive director of SkillsUSA. “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.”
Each competitor was supported by various companies that made the training possible, with an industry expert who oversaw their training in the months leading up to the competition.
Representing the United States in Lyon were:
- Automobile Technology: Nathan Bulthuis, Homer Glenn, Ill. (Expert: Mike Elder)
- CNC Milling: Kaden Stanczyk, Custer, Wis. (Expert: Alden “JR” Colvin)
- Cooking: Novirah Lone, Plymouth, Mich. (Expert: Greg Beachey)
- Heavy Vehicle: Cale Mouser, Manhattan, Kan. (Expert: Tom Wozniak)
- Mechatronics: Gabriel Eady, Knoxville, Tenn. (Expert: Josh Whittington)
- Plumbing and Heating: Brady Kroll, Barnesville, Minn. (Expert: Bob Hahn)
- Welding: Wyatt Hansen, Altonah, Utah (Expert: Ray Connolly)
Guiding the 2024 team of experts and competitors were technical delegate Scott Norman and SkillsUSA Championships director Brandon Hudson along with team leader Craig Moore. Hudson said, “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 U.S. 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 earned the right to compete through their performance in previous state and national skill competitions including the SkillsUSA Championships or industry events. Training took place at a variety of locations at industry and technical schools nationwide to prepare each student for their unique event.
WorldSkills Lyon 2024 was the site of the 47th WorldSkills Competition that brought together 1,400 competitors from over 70 countries and regions competing in 59 skills in front of 250,000 visitors.
For more of Craig Moore’s photos of the competition, go here.
For more information on WorldSkills, go to: www.worldskills.org and to see the WorldSkills USA microsite, visit: www.worldskillsusa.org.
