FAIRMONT, W.Va. (WV News) — More than 1,200 career and technical education students from across the state competed in the SkillsUSA West Virginia Competition over the weekend, putting their expertise to good use in hopes of moving on to the national competition later this year.

The competition was held at several sites around North Central West Virginia, including Fairmont State University.

Competition categories include everything from welding and robotics to culinary arts and graphic design.

Skills-USA West Virginia Executive Director Melissa Wilkinson said the competition is an opportunity for students to put everything they’ve learned on display.

“The goal is to, number one, boost the students’ self-confidence in the competitions,” she said. “This is what all of the students and advisers love about SkillsUSA. I also like the community aspect of it, with getting students involved in projects. …”

“Building the future skilled workforce is my goal,” she said. “We’re working with business and industry such as the carpenters union and laborers union and pipe fitters. They come in to judge the contests, so it gives the kids context for future employment.”

Wilkinson said SkillsUSA expands the skilled workforce pipeline, which not only helps students find employment after graduation, but benefits local industry as well.

“These kids receive their certifications whenever they’re in their programs, and when they graduate, they get to step out and go right to work,” she said.

Rodney Nelson, a robotics teacher at Carver Career and Technical Education Center in Charleston, said about 50 students from the center — in all fields — traveled to Fairmont for this year’s competition.

Nelson said he couldn’t be happier for his robotics students to have an opportunity like this.

“I love for them to be able to participate like this in what they’re doing and see how it’s useful, and see how they can apply what they’re doing (in the real world),” he said. “They get to see what other people are doing as well and see how far they’ve come. There’s a growing community of robotics. It’s relatively new as a field. …

“Also, it’s for the experience. They have the opportunity here to go on and win scholarships, and that’s something that they can earn. That’s what I’m trying to get them able to do.”

Wilkinson said she was blown away by what the SkillsUSA West Virginia competitors have accomplished this year, and she’s proud of all 1,212 of them.

“They have been phenomenal,” she said. “You can just look at our state officer candidates. We had 21 to apply, and through the application process, they brought that down to 15. … Several comments have been made about the top quality of students we have this year. It’s just phenomenal.”

Wilkinson said about 225 or 250 students from West Virginia will be going to the SkillsUSA National Championship, which will be held in Atlanta in June.

Fairmont News Editor John Mark Shaver can be reached at 304-844-8485 or jshaver@theet.com.