Vocational prowess earns spot in national skills championship for recent Kiski Area grad

Jack Skroupa has a knack for working with his hands that has his career heating up just one week after graduation from Kiski Area School District.

Skroupa studied heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) at Northern Westmoreland Career and Technology Center and already landed an apprenticeship because of his skills. He starts training at the Local 12 Sheet Metal/Air Conditioning Union in Harmar this summer — but not before he vies to become national champion at the SkillsUSA Competition this month in Atlanta.

“It takes a lot of creativity and math knowledge,” said Skroupa, 18. “You get a flat chunk of steel, and you have to build the duct work. Then you have to troubleshoot things and maintain it.”

The competition, June 19 to 24, is billed as the largest gathering of America’s future skilled workforce.

Every year, students from the technology center compete in area trade contests through the SkillsUSA Organization. It’s open to all vocational students across the United States to showcase their skill sets and intends to prepare students to be world-class citizens and workers, according to the website.

“I couldn’t believe I made it to Atlanta,” Skroupa said. “It felt great. I’m excited for the opportunity and experience.”

The teen will compete against thousands of others from across the country. He qualified by placing first against other state vocational students at a competition in April in Hershey.

There, he won the Gold Award in the State Sheet Metal category.

Bob Myers, a teacher at the technology center on the campus of Valley High School, said Skroupa has what businesses look for in a new hire.

“He’s a talented young man whose maturity and work ethic is beyond his age,” Myers said.

“He’s exactly what our next generation of HVAC craftsmen should be like.”

HVAC installers earn about $30 an hour, or about $60,000 a year in Pennsylvania, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Myers has appointed Skroupa to mentor and lead other students in classroom projects throughout the school, including fabrication and installation of a complete duct system in the technology center’s learning lab.

While there, Skroupa has earned multiple recognitions, licenses and certifications. Among them are EPA 608 Refrigerant Recovery licenses, the OSHA 30-hour Construction Job Site Safety Card and the Pennsylvania Builders Association Certificate.

He was named HVAC Student of the Year for 2023 and earned the Malco Tools Head of Class Award.

“I’m really looking forward to being in Atlanta at the competition,” Skroupa said. “Knowing that a lot of hard work and effort has paid off, it feels great.”