800-355-7061Mechanical Equipment Sponsors High School Welding Team at National Competition
We get involved with the coolest projects! Mechanical Equipment recently had the opportunity to sponsor a three-person welding team of high school students for the 2025 National SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference (NLSC). SkillsUSA is a development organization that helps students become skilled professionals, leaders, and strong community members.
The team we sponsored included Aric Abbott, Jaden Sommers and Lou Jensen (the grandson of our very own Dean Powrozek). The team participated in several local and regional competitions, successfully advancing to each level before finally reaching the national competition. They were required to fabricate a backhoe loader bucket with a seat. The attached photo shows Aric, Jaden, and Lou with their finished piece.
The three team members competed as juniors from Hampshire, Illinois High School and finished in 11th place out of a field of 40 teams! That’s quite an accomplishment for these young men, and Mechanical Equipment was proud to support them!
Consider a Thriving Career in the Trades
Training in the trades is an important element of education for our future generations. Too many classes have been eliminated in high schools that were once taught in “shop class.” The focus has shifted to “everyone needs to go to college for a four-year degree,” which has not served all students well. Frankly, not everyone wants to go to college, and it often has nothing to do with their level of intelligence—it has to do with their level of interest in academics.
We need to provide alternate avenues for careers in the trades for those young people who don’t want more than a high school education but still have a desire to pursue a career that offers them good benefits, great income, and future leadership and entrepreneurial opportunities. The trades can provide all of that and more! We encourage anyone in our industry or others to support, sponsor, and/or offer mentorship programs to any young student wishing to pursue a career in the trades!
For more information about our company or to ask us questions about a potential career in the Mechanical Equipment industry, give us a call at 800-355-7061. We enjoy supporting growth and future talent for our industry.
More About SkillsUSA
SkillsUSA is the #1 workforce development organization for students and America’s proud champion of the skilled trades. They empower students to become skilled professionals, career-ready leaders, and responsible community members. Representing more than 442,000 career and technical education students and teachers, SkillsUSA chapters thrive in middle schools, high schools, and college/postsecondary institutions nationwide. Their mission is accomplished through the SkillsUSA Framework of Personal Skills, Workplace Skills, and Technical Skills Grounded in Academics, which is integrated into classroom curriculum.
A vital solution to the ongoing skills gap—where more highly skilled jobs are available than skilled professionals ready to fill them—SkillsUSA has served over 15 million diverse, difference-making members since 1965.
Learn more about SkillsUSA here.