SkillsUSA WorldTeam Prepares For WorldSkills Competition In London, England

Ben Phillips to Represent United States in Offset Printing Contest

Reston, VA— Through funding provided by the Graphic Arts Education and Research Foundation (GAERF), SkillsUSA will send Ben Phillips to represent the United States in the Offset Printing contest at the 41st WorldSkills Competition to be held in London, England, October 5-8, 2011.  Phillips, a graduate of C.S. Monroe Technology Center, Leesburg, VA will compete against press operators from ten other nations.

Phillips was selected from a pool of outstanding candidates. He began a rigorous training routine in June by spending two weeks at Heidelberg USA's Print Media Academy in Kennesaw, GA. Since that time, he has been preparing for the upcoming challenge at two different Sterling, VA printing companies: Colorcraft of Virginia and Petree Press. "I had an awesome experience at Heidelberg, starting with the very basics. At the end of two weeks I felt as though I had been running a SpeedMaster my entire life," said Phillips. He continued, "I cannot express how honored I am to represent the USA, and how thankful I am for the support from GAERF, Heidelberg, Colorcraft of Virginia, and Petree Press."

 "It is important for the graphic communications industry to have a United States representative participating in the WorldSkills offset printing competition," comments GAERF President Ralph Nappi, "and that is why GAERF is committed to supporting this event. Involvement could not have been possible without the generous outreach from Heidelberg USA, Colorcraft of Virginia, and Petree Press."

Besides Phillips, SkillsUSA will send 16 additional secondary and college students to compete in this biennial event. The students will test their skills against more than 1,000 contestants representing 55 countries in 43 official competitions and three demonstration contests.

About SkillsUSA
SkillsUSA is a national organization of students, teachers and industry, working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce. SkillsUSA helps high school and college students enrolled in career and technical education programs to excel by teaching employability skills such as communication, problem solving and leadership in conjunction with their trade, technical and service occupations skills. The association's annual membership exceeds 300,000 students and instructors in more than 4,000 schools and colleges in every state, three territories, and the District of Columbia. For more information, visit www.skillsusa.org.

About GAERF
The Graphic Arts Education and Research Foundation was created by the National Association for Printing Leadership, NPES The Association for Suppliers of Printing, Publishing, and Converting Technologies and the Printing Industries of America in 1983.

These three national associations jointly own the Graphic Arts Show Company (GASC). GAERF was created to channel a portion of the revenues earned by GASC-managed shows into projects supporting a strong future for the industry. For additional information about the Foundation and its programs, visit: www.gaerf.org, e-mail: gaerf@npes.org, or phone toll-free: 866/381-9839.