Toby Prinsen, Apollo Career Center automated manufacturing instructor, has been named Region III Advisor of the Year for SkillsUSA.

A letter of notification stated that, “due to your dedication to the organization and your many accomplishments as a career and technical educator, you were chosen as the overall winner for Region III.”

One advisor has been selected as a finalist for the national award from each of SkillsUSA's five regions. The National Advisor of the Year will be announced during the Opening Ceremony at the National Leadership and Skills Conference in Kansas City, Missouri this June. Prinsen has been an instructor and SkillsUSA Advisor for 10 years.

SkillsUSA programs include local, state and national competitions in which students demonstrate occupational and leadership skills. At the annual national-level SkillsUSA Championships, nearly 6,000 students compete in 99 occupational and leadership skill areas.

SkillsUSA programs also help to establish industry standards for job skill training in the lab and classroom, and promote community service. SkillsUSA is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and is cited as a "successful model of employer-driven youth development training program" by the U.S. Department of Labor.