How SkillsUSA Texas is Building the Next Generation of Tradespeople with Crystal Latham Alford

Crystal Latham Alford [: 00:00:00

I truly believe that that gold medal competition mentality, like the Olympics, it really just pushes the student to really go above and beyond. And we're more than a competition. I always want to make sure people know that we talk about career Olympics. Right? That's kind of what we kind of envision ourselves. We also teach soft skills. Making sure a student can speak in a job interview, have that opportunity to have customer service, conflict resolution, all of those pieces that industry continues to speak loudly about that is missing in the workforce.

Andrew Brown [: 00:00:37

Hi, I'm Andrew Brown. You're listening to the Lost Star of the Skilled Trades podcast, a show that shines the spotlight on careers in the skilled trades that are high paying, honorable, rewarding and fulfilling. The trades are the backbone of the economy that keep us running. And without them, our world would cease to exist. Today we have a special guest, Crystal Latham Alford, executive director of SkillsUSA in Texas. Welcome, Crystal, to the show.

Crystal Latham Alford [: 00:01:12

Thank you. Happy to be here.

Andrew Brown [: 00:01:14

So I was down in Texas a handful of months ago at an event called why Texas? And it was for doing business in Texas. We were actually in AT&T Stadium, which was amazing because not that I love the Cowboys per se, but I just, I like the stadium. And was walking around on the 50th yard line and I look over, I'm like, wait a second, Skills USA has a booth over there. It turned out that Ed Curtis, the CEO, the person who is behind Wide Texas, wanted to put a panel together to talk about the skilled trades and put us together and the rest was history. We had a great panel and we had representatives from SkillsUSA in the audience and got to talk and it was really exciting to hear all the different feedback from the kids on site. Tell me a little bit or tell us a little bit about SkillsUSA. So the audience has a good understanding about what SkillsUSA is all about.

Crystal Latham Alford [: 00:02:12

Yeah. So SkillsUSA is all about helping students build the skills they need for their future careers and technical fields. Really, Honestly. Our mission is simple. We prepare students for success in the workplace through hands on training, leadership development and real world competitions. It's all about giving the students the tools to thrive in careers and become confident skilled professionals. I like to keep it real simple because what we do is simple.

Andrew Brown [: 00:02:37

And as far as the competitions go, and I know you're out of the Texas division or area and there's, there's regions around the country, there's one in New York, there's one in Texas in different states. How many overall chapters are there in SkillsUSA representing the organization?

Crystal Latham Alford [: 00:02:55

Chapters across the nation. I don't know that I have that information, but I do think that the national organization has some really great information on their national site. I can speak for Texas though. As far as Texas chapters, we have about 675 chapters across the state. And that doesn't include all. We are still growing high school and middle school and college post secondary daily. So that number is expected to grow over the next couple of years as well.

Andrew Brown [: 00:03:22

Now, is Texas one of the more active chapters versus other states?

Crystal Latham Alford [: 00:03:28

Well, we're in great company with California and Ohio. They're really the next closest states that are to the number we have in Texas. But as far as square footage, Texas is doing really well and we continue to grow with our counterparts across the state.

Andrew Brown [: 00:03:44

I mean, I had a chance to be down in the competition or the championship competition in Atlanta. I got to see firsthand what it was all about with the 6,000 so students competing against each other in a lot of different trades. And just the advocacy and just the smiles and all the red jackets, because for people who don't know, they all wear the red, the red jackets. When you see those red jackets, you know it's SkillsUSA. It's like you can't mistake it for something else. But when I was down there and just watching some of the competitions, I was just in awe. Tell us a little bit more what it's like to be at these competitions and what the skill set is to some of these younger individuals.

Crystal Latham Alford [: 00:04:22

It varies. We have so many great pathways that we support. We support 13 clusters in our state from cosmetology, IT, cybersecurity. I mean, these students are at the top of their field and they know what their passion is. And we're also growing middle school, giving that discovery opportunity for them to discover what they may potentially want to go into in high school, but they also have the opportunity to change their minds, which is also a great thing. Then again, continuing that mission of hands on trades and also building that professionalism through networks with our industry partners that are not only looking to grow that pathway to continue the workforce in that area, but also to employ our students, some employing our students right off the competition floor, or also following them as they grow in their trade in the high school and then obviously looking at post secondary certifications and continued education.

Andrew Brown [: 00:05:20

I look at it like it's the Olympics for the skilled trades. And when you, you win that gold medal or that silver medal for a competition, right. It shows to a possible employer or future employer of like, wow, this person has got skills in this particular trade, because I would assume a lot of companies are sort of scouting some of these kids out there, or like you said, know of some of these kids out there and just kind of watching them go through the competition.

Crystal Latham Alford [: 00:05:47

There is, I mean, the industries that we continue to find are coming out by the woodworks. We're the best kept secret. I will just be really honest. We hear that all the time. Industries are like, what is SkillsUSA? Why didn't we know about it before? And for those out there that don't know where we originally came from, we've been around a long time. We were Vika, Vic. So there were some other components before we became SkillsUSA. So our mission and vision has been deep ingrained in what we truly believe is the heart of the state.

Crystal Latham Alford [: 00:06:18

I'm not only speaking for my state, but workforce in Texas, but also I truly believe that that gold medal competition mentality, like the Olympics, it really just pushes the student to really go above and beyond. And we're more than a competition. I always want to make sure people know that we talk about career Olympics, right? That's kind of what we kind of envision ourselves. We also teach soft skills. Making sure a student can speak in a job interview, have that opportunity to have customer service, conflict resolution, all of those pieces that industry continues to speak loudly about that is missing in the workforce. SkillsUSA trains our students not only to be the best in the hands on aspect, we also want to grow the student in their leadership skills so they can do more and be that employee that stays for the longevity.

Andrew Brown [: 00:07:09

You don't realize that you need both sides. You need the tech side and you need the soft skills together. When an employer, it's considering having you work for their organization, yeah, you can be this really talented welder, but if you don't really have the soft skills, if you don't walk up to somebody, shake their hand, look them in the eye, speak well, stay off your cell phone. Like all the, like the little things that we sort of take for granted, but like that goes a long way and that you can learn under SkillsUSA 100%.

Crystal Latham Alford [: 00:07:38

We are here to continue to grow that mission and statement. And again, the workforce, there are lots of jobs to go around. Students just aren't aware of the opportunity. And SkillsUSA is willing to go out there and tell the students, you can be your own boss. I mean, I think that's what TikTok and lots of other things are trying to teach kids today. They can be their own boss or their own influencer. We can do that. But we also want to show that you have to work, you have to work at it.

Crystal Latham Alford [: 00:08:08

You're not automatically the best and hard work pays off. Whether that's you want to do the four year university track, you want a certificate, we are giving several different options. We just want you to be able to pick and truly believe in the passion that will create that future for you and your family.

Andrew Brown [: 00:08:26

And it's got to be for you. I mean, if you want to take the four year college route, that's fine. There's nothing wrong with it. But there's also another option like the trades. It's just a matter, it has to be in front of that individual. And I always say when an individual is sitting down, let's say middle school or high school, let's say more high school with a guidance counselor. Is the guidance counselor really saying if they know the person is good with their hands, you know, you should be a plumber or you should be an electrician. I don't know how many of those conversations are really happening.

Andrew Brown [: 00:08:54

So these kids need support, they need career expiration, meaning that they should know they should be given information where they should turn within the trades. I feel that can be worked on, especially in schools. If somebody is mechanically inclined or has that technical ability that they should be given a path. It's not always there. How does somebody, you know, doesn't have anybody in their network if they know that they want to work with their hands, but they're not sure what would be a good way to figure that out or who should they speak to.

Crystal Latham Alford [: 00:09:26

They really should speak to a CTE director. There typically is a CTE director in every district and, and also majority of the schools that are providing a dual credit type certification or anything in cte, they should definitely talk to that individual within their campus. They can always reach out to SkillsUSA. We have great information online and they also can reach out to our national organization. So there's multiple facets that they can get more information or more involved. We have several students that hear about us through social media or an event that they may have attended or a career fair day. And we encourage them if they, even if they don't have a chapter, to reach out to us so that we can reach out to the school and encourage them to get involved. So lots of different ways to get connected.

Crystal Latham Alford [: 00:10:14

The student just really has to take that first step and say, how do I get more information? And that starts at their school local level. But then again, if they don't get the answers, everybody's really good at Google search these days. So they Definitely can google skillsusa tx.org and we can definitely lead them in the right direction.

Andrew Brown [: 00:10:33

I also do see, especially at the competition, there is an organization called Skills Jam that goes around and they interview different kids. I think Ty Pennington is the main host. He was walking around too, I think, with Skills Jam as well. And I think Paige Knowles, the plumber as well, she's a part of that organization. But they were interviewing different kids around the competition. And you talk about social media, I mean, especially on Instagram and TikTok. For the kids who don't know, they can get a whiff of that by seeing these videos that Skills Jam is making for skillzusa and the skilled trades, they definitely are.

Crystal Latham Alford [: 00:11:12

We actually are lucky enough to have about 10 kids in skills Jam in Texas. So they are actually out there promoting and putting their word on TikTok and Instagram. So we're really excited about the opportunity that we've partnered with Skills Jam in order to continue that momentum through social media to support the trade. So, yes, I completely agree. There's some great companies and organizations like Skills Jams to be able to put some of that on social media where the students really are paying attention.

Andrew Brown [: 00:11:41

I'm sure you've been to a lot of these shows or competitions, but what is the most exciting event that you saw over the past few years that you can share or an individual that had a success story that came through SkillsUSA.

Crystal Latham Alford [: 00:11:56

So this one really hits home for me. It was probably about three years ago we were at the national organization's conference in Atlanta, Georgia. It was our first year there. I had a post secondary student in the cosmetology field that unfortunately couldn't find someone to babysit her child in order to compete, which with a post secondary competitor, that could maybe be a concern. The school was able to get the student some supervision for their child while they were competing. There was a moment we were getting ready for the closing ceremonies where everyone is wearing their reds. It's that really big moment. And I saw that mother put her lanyard on her daughter's neck and her daughter was looking at her and smiling ear to ear and just super excited about the next spot that her mom was going to go.

Crystal Latham Alford [: 00:12:47

And in that moment, we are inspiring champions. That moment that mother got the opportunity to showcase what she was doing to support her child and giving that also that opportunity to say, you can do more. You just have to take that first step. You know, I have actually a picture of that moment it's in my office. It really inspires me every day. Every student and every member we have has a story. You know, as long as we're doing more than just giving them an opportunity, we're helping them inspire, champion in themselves and also in their family members, their home life. It's really more than a competition.

Crystal Latham Alford [: 00:13:26

SkillsUSA is a way of life, and we really are helping that by providing all these opportunities in every state, in every different way. So that was just one piece, but there are so many more stories very similar like that, that we run across daily. It's inspiring, it's passionate, and it's creating a generation of hard workers in the workforce. So I could go on and on, and I get all teary about things like this, but really it is. It's in your heart. SkillsUSA manages to become part of your heart.

Andrew Brown [: 00:13:59

These are emotional stories. There are so many different stories. People have come through SkillsUSA and, you know, they've gone on to successful careers and some of them come from, you know, tough backgrounds, and they've really succeeded. And I can see you and I could feel that sort of the passion behind that because you're fully invested in SkillsUSA and all the other people that I speak to who are a part of the organization, too. Just love being there, just love the mission, just want to help, want to build up skilled trades, want the next generation in. I mean, when I look around SkillsUSA and I look outside and I say, yeah, there's a skilled trades gap. We need 40% of retiring over the next five or 10 years. But then I look at SkillsUSA and the competition, I'm like, there's so much here.

Andrew Brown [: 00:14:42

This is a future generation of what the next generation is going to be in the skilled trades. I'm just surprised not more companies come down there to represent themselves, to be in front of these kids, because this is your future employees here.

Crystal Latham Alford [: 00:14:56

I agree. And again, like we talked about a little bit before, we are the best kept secret in every state. I can't just speak for Texas. I think everywhere we are the best kept secret. We're in the grind, right? We're doing the work. And I think we forget to go out there and brag on what we're doing and also showcase what we're doing. That's one of the bigger pieces. But I think the national organization really, in their new strategic plan, as the national organization starts to kind of build that marketing piece, I think we really are just not out there enough.

Crystal Latham Alford [: 00:15:28

But on the flip side, if an industry is with us and comes to our event, we encourage them always to put their own stories out there because they're hiring our students. It really is also in the hands of the partners that we partner with. So anybody out there that has a student from SkillsUSA, ask them how they got there, talk them up. Because I bet that they have a really good story about how they were inspired to stay in that trade. I think the empowerment is all the way around not only within the organization, but also those industry partners that are employing our people. Find out if they participated in A CTSO Life, SkillsUSA DECA, any of them, because I guarantee there's a story there.

Andrew Brown [: 00:16:12

You talk about emotional stories too. And I was walking through a vocational school in New Jersey a while back and I got to one of the departments and I was speaking to the head of the department and there was a flag skillsusa. He turned around and immediately had a huge smile on his face and got emotional. Immediately got emotional. And it seems like the SkillsUSA and the people that involved, it's such an emotion, passion, sort of behind that. It was great to see that. I've heard of Skills USA for quite a while. It just took me time to actually get down there, which I went down there over the summer.

Andrew Brown [: 00:16:44

Each and every person that I speak to is just so happy to discuss a success story. It's like a badge of honor. When you win that competition, what, what do you typically win? So if you win a competition, do you win prize money, do you win tools? What do you typically win?

Crystal Latham Alford [: 00:17:01

We have several different, I guess winning moments, right? There are colleges that come to the event and they offer scholarships from $1,000 to $15,000. So we have several community colleges, technical schools, four year universities that come out and offer those first, second and third place winners an opportunity to continue their education if they choose. We have several also industry partners that give tools just in kind support in order to continue that student's participation in maybe welding machines, snap on tools just to continue their path in the trades. So they give a lot of in kind support like that gift cards to be able to buy those tools at the Lowe's and the Home Depots. We have lots of partnerships with them as well. There's also an opportunity to showcase your skills. So they also give apprenticeship opportunities, internships, so continuing to work also while you're in school in order to continue your path and grow your knowledge in the trades. So I would say we give a lot of different rewarding opportunities between the actual tangible items you take home to the experience.

Crystal Latham Alford [: 00:18:16

I think that's a reward in itself. And then also the scholarships and the other opportunities to continue your education and learn more in that trade skill.

Andrew Brown [: 00:18:25

I can imagine if a young student, you know, look, I don't have a lot of money at this time and I know that I want to go into this trade and I get a gift card to Lowe's and I can buy a handful of tools that I can have in my, you know, my repertoire and, and use this for years and years. I mean it's so exciting to see that. And on top of you have basically that metal that you can show others that just kind of amplifies sort of like your, I don't want to say level of success, but it says like this person has got soft skills, this person's got tech skills, and this person is a good person that probably is the right person to be on the team. I am sure kids are nervous, probably competing for the first time. Never have done this before. What kind of prep do these kids go through?

Crystal Latham Alford [: 00:19:14

Really starts in the classroom and we've got great opportunities where we have very intro type competitions. We call them state only competitions so they don't necessarily advance to nationals. But it's definitely an opportunity to get your foot in the door as a freshman or an eighth grader. It's tool identification. I'm just giving an example of. They learn how to identify all the tools and then they take a test on that to get a medal. That's really that first start. And in the classroom, literally these teachers are teaching the teks which is their curriculum and they're teaching those hands on skills and those soft skills in the classroom every single day.

Crystal Latham Alford [: 00:19:54

What we're doing is we're giving them an additional opportunity by giving them some curriculum around professional behavior and conflict resolution to also create that higher level student. They create chapters so they have officers that are become leaders to help lead and recruit new students. And again, it's all happening in the walls of the school. Community service projects as maybe some have had a club or an organization in their time when they were in school. This is kind of like what they're doing with SkillsUSA. They're coming to chapter meetings, at lunch, a pizza party to start talking about how to get involved. It really does start at the ground level in the classroom. But we never want to make it more work for the teacher that already has a list of things on their to do list.

Crystal Latham Alford [: 00:20:43

We really just say, hey, we're just asking you to encourage and give opportunity. And we give them the resources through our professional development in our curriculum to make them successful in the classroom. So again, it really just starts at the ground level in the class.

Andrew Brown [: 00:20:57

If somebody wants to get involved in SkillsUSA outside of just being a student, if you're a vendor of some sort, you want to get involved. Somebody who just wants to help, how do you get involved with SkillsUSA?

Crystal Latham Alford [: 00:21:11

So, on our website, we have a really great volunteer industry tab that you can get in and contact us directly through email or phone. And then also we encourage you. We are at several different events. We'll be at Acte Vision around the corner. We encourage, if there's a booth that we're at, stop by and have a conversation with us. Definitely at a lot of national events. So definitely look through the vendor group and see if we're there, because we'd love to just have you stop by and talk to us. But really, your first step as a vendor or an industry partner that wants to have a conversation, reach out through email or phone call and you can get that information on our website.

Andrew Brown [: 00:21:49

Yeah. For the people that are listening, whether you just want to get involved, if you're a parent, you're a student, you're a vendor, take a look at Skills usa. It's such an amazing organization and it's such an amazing event. You know, if you can make it on the state level or even make it on the national level or the championship down in Atlanta in 2025, and I think it's mid June is the competition, definitely get down there and take a look at the excitement down there. Take a look at all the different kids and the skill sets that they have. And if you're looking for somebody who's got really good skills in a particular trade, that's where you want to be to find sort of the next town out there. Now, the tools of the trade. This has been an amazing conversation, but before we leave the studio today, what is one of your special tools of the trade advice that you would give students pursuing a skilled trade and how to leverage opportunities like SkillsUSA to excel in their field?

Crystal Latham Alford [: 00:22:51

First and foremost, I think the biggest thing is believe in yourself, believe you're capable and do the work. Nothing that's worth having is easy. But always when you finish and you do everything you can to be successful, it will work out. It really does. Put yourself out there. Never say you can't honestly lean on those that are closest to you. You are inspiring a champion by trying. SkillsUSA Texas is here to support anyone that is looking for an opportunity.

Crystal Latham Alford [: 00:23:22

So find our information and we will help support your future.

Andrew Brown [: 00:23:26

I mean, it's all about believing in yourself. It's just a great support system, you know, whatever chapter that you're in. Obviously if you're in Texas, definitely reach out to Crystal or her team. But if you're in New York, there are other directors and you can find that out on the SkillsUSA website. Where do people find out more information about your chapter and just SkillsUSA in general?

Crystal Latham Alford [: 00:23:50

So you can reach out to us at www.skillsusatx.org or you can even reach out to me specifically and I'm more than happy to share my email. It's Crystal C R Y S T a l@skillsusatx.org and we will find you information. And even if you're not from Texas, I definitely can give you to the right person in the right state if you need additional assistance.

Andrew Brown [: 00:24:19

Well, thank you, Krystal. I mean, it's amazing what you're doing with SkillsUSA and the support level that you're giving people in the trades. Thank you so much for being on the show today.

Crystal Latham Alford [: 00:24:29

Thank you for having me, and thank.

Andrew Brown [: 00:24:30

You to our listeners. If you're looking for a dynamic keynote speaker to elevate your next event, head over to andrewbrown.net and review some of my speaking topics, trades awareness, career exploration, advocacy, and addressing the trade shortage. Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast so you never miss another episode. We'll see you next time. Thanks for listening to the Lost Art of the Skill Skilled Trades. Visit us@AndrewBrown.net for more resources and tips. Join us next time for real stories and meaningful initiatives as we celebrate our men and women in the skilled trades and shape the future together.