New York woodworker wins WorldSkills qualifying

After winning a qualifying trial at the AWFS fair in Las Vegas, Jacob Wozniak will represent the United States at the 2015 WorldSkills competition in San Paolo, Brazil.

Wozniak graduated in 2012 from Cattaraugus-Allegheny Board Of Cooperative Educational Services in Ellicottville, N.Y., and won the high school category at the 2012 SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference in Kansas City, Mo., qualifying for the trial where he competed against Caleb Floyd and Brett Sidesinger.

“All three of these contestants were qualified. It was a strong competition and we are proud to be able to show the industry that students like these three young men are the woodworkers of the future,” said SkillsUSA technical expert Rob Tobias, an instructor at Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology in Lancaster, Pa.

Since graduation, Wozniak has been working at a cabinet shop and spends most of his free time in his shop. He will train with Tobias for the WorldSkills competition.

The qualifying trial was sponsored by the following companies: 3-D Fastener Plus, Amana Tool, Bessey Tools, Colonial Saw, Dixon Enterprises, FRAMA-Tech, General International, Grex Power Tools, Joos USA, Kreg Tool, Lee Valley and Veritas Tools, Rockler Woodworking & Hardware, Royal Plywood, Woodcraft, and Wurth Louis and Co.

For information, visit www.skillsusa.org.

This article originally appeared in the September 2013 issue.