SkillsUSA 2025 is heating up!

By Emma Peterson. 

How the industry has come together to support the next generation of professionals. 

The 2025 SkillsUSA competition is coming to a close at the end of June with the SkillsUSAChampionships! This is the premier showcase of the United States’ most highly skilled career and technical education students. It is held in conjunction with the SkillsUSA National Leadership & Skills Conference, which will be held from June 23 to 27 in Atlanta, Georgia this year. This inspiring event will see more than 6,500 students from across the nation compete for gold, silver and bronze medals in over 100 different skilled and leadership categories. 

Roofing is a newer competition on the SkillsUSA stage, having been added in 2023. Rick Damato, National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) recruiter, entrepreneur and dedicated member of NRCA and the Roofing Alliance, explained a bit of the history when he stopped by for a Roofing Road Trip® last year. He shared, “There was every conceivable skilled trade represented... Every manner of construction except roofing. And the light bulb sort of went off that roofing has never been recognized as a specialty trade in career and technical education in this country. It was this huge gap and a real opportunity when it comes to workforce development as we are seeing our highly skilled workforce aging out, they're retiring.” 

And so, people like Rick jumped in to bring roofing to the SkillsUSA competition. Now, two years later, the industry has truly come together to support the education of the next generation of roofing professionals. The Coffee Shops™ crew will be on the ground interviewing some of the incredible students in Atlanta this year! And a lot of our friends from the industry are chipping in as well!  From donating funds to the continuation of the program to supplying products and tools to the students competing, countless companies have stepped up to help these students succeed. Others who are contributing include Elevate, EagleView, ABC Supply, Roofing Alliance, SRS Distribution, Johns Manville, TAMKO, GAF, Central States, Leister and IB Roof Systems. 

Patrick Cochran, the owner of Red Dog's Roofing and the driving force behind Massachusetts's roofing SkillsUSA program, put it best when he said, “Our industry is willing to come together to donate time, money and materials to make this is an easy lift for schools. We just want them to put us in front of students and then we can help them with curriculum, hands-on material, tools and ultimately the financial support for whoever's going to nationals — we want them to succeed.”