SkillsUSA Texas Shows Exactly Where the Next Generation of Builders Is Coming From

Rogers-O’Brien has supported SkillsUSA Texas for more than 30 years, and we’re doubling down.

If you’ve ever worried about the construction skills gap, get yourself to Corpus Christi for SkillsUSA Texas.

Hundreds of high school and post-secondary students compete each year across dozens of disciplines. It’s the Olympics for the trades, everything from nursing and robotics to the ones closest to our work: carpentry, electrical, plumbing, and masonry.

Each event awards gold, silver, and bronze. Gold medalists advance to Nationals to face the best from every other state. You’re meeting the top of the top.

Why It Matters

The skilled trades workforce is shrinking, but the demand isn’t.

Programs like SkillsUSA are building the next generation of carpenters, electricians, plumbers, and builders. Most of these students enter the workforce within three months to two years of competing. For a general contractor like RO, that’s the dream pipeline.

But walk the floor and one thing is clear: there aren’t nearly enough construction companies in the room. The students are showing up. The schools are showing up. The industry needs to match that energy.

More Than 30 Years and Counting

This year, RO sent a team to Corpus Christi: Senior Superintendent Steve Munoz, Assistant Superintendent Cody Scheffe, Quality Manager William Holmes III, Project Engineer Teo Orduna, and Digital Communications Specialist Sarah Trocolli.

Much of RO’s involvement traces back to Steve, and it started personally. Steve competed in SkillsUSA himself.

“Somebody gave me a chance when I was coming up, and that’s why I stay with it,” he says.

Years later, Preston McAfee (RO’s former President and CEO) tasked Steve with finding his future replacements at RO. Steve went back to the schools, started talking with students, and reconnected with the program that helped launch him. He’s kept the company tied to it ever since.

“We stayed involved because it’s the best way to find talent for what we do,” he says. “Anybody who cares about this industry should be able to see what SkillsUSA does for these kids. We’ve helped a lot of them along, and we’ve hired many.”

Built by SkillsUSA Alumni

For Cody, the competition did more than test his skills. “It was exciting to compete, but it also was a chance to get my name out and get my foot in the door,” he says. “That was critical to me getting interviews and job offers with the right companies before I even graduated.”

He also sees something that doesn’t show up on a scorecard. “This gives students a chance to show off their skills, not just the technical ones, but the soft skills too. Can they handle the stress?” he says. “It really shows you the ones who will push through, even if they don’t win. I think that’s just as important to flex as the technical skills.”

Cody isn’t the exception. Project Engineer Teo Orduna competed in SkillsUSA Carpentry and came to RO through TSTC as well. They’re exactly what this pipeline produces.

Beyond One School

TSTC is the primary sponsor of SkillsUSA Texas, and its students consistently perform at the highest level. The connection runs both ways at RO. Quality Manager William Holmes III, a TSTC graduate, later worked on the TSTC Career Technologies Center project, building for the same school that built him.

But TSTC isn’t the whole story. Community colleges and two-year technical programs across the state send competitors who medal and make names for their programs. The talent pool is statewide, and deeper than most of the industry realizes.

Texas Showed Up at Nationals

At this year’s National competition, a TeamWorks squad from TSTC Waco took home silver against the best in the country. TeamWorks puts a four-person crew through carpentry, electrical, plumbing, and masonry on a single build over two days, about as close to a real job site as a competition gets.

That’s four of the exact trades we depend on, proven at a national level by students who could be on a job site within two years.

The Bottom Line

SkillsUSA is where your future workforce is proving themselves. The students are ready. The programs are working. The only question is whether the construction industry will show up to meet them.

Rogers-O’Brien has been there for more than 30 years. We’re asking our trade partners to join us.

Learn more or get involved at SkillsUSA Texas.