Press Release: KICKER has been a long-time sponsor of national SkillsUSA, and this year was no different at the Championships held in Atlanta last week.
KICKER Tech Force manager Aaron Malin and Tech Force trainer Jacob Luckey judged the car-audio installation portion during SkillsUSA’s 60th annual National Leadership and Skills Conference.
The Mobile-Electronics Installation category tests competitors’ abilities to perform standard installation practices used by certified, professional installers. The competition includes a written exam, interviews, and multiple hands-on applications.
KICKER provided six prize packages. Gold for high school and college get $1500 at KICKER.com. Silver gets $1000 and Bronze gets $500. in all, it is donating more than $5,000 in prizes to the winners of the SkillsUSA 12-volt competitions.
“Many of us involved at the Skills competition have a personal connection with the program itself, having competed in it at a younger age, like Scott Dilbert of Sky High Car Audio and Aaron Malin of KICKER,” KICKER’s Jacob Luckey explained
“Being involved with Skills is important to me because teaching and being a mentor are two of my passions,” he said. “It also allows me to help build lasting connections within the industry by working closely alongside likeminded individuals from other companies and manufacturers.”
Here’s the winners from the contest last week. https://www.skillsusa-register.org/rpts/EventMedalists.aspx (Search under “Mobile Electronics Installation” in the drop down menu).
For more information on KICKER visit www.kicker.com.
Here are the Mobile Electronics SkillsUSA 2026 winners:
Our industry has a lack of skilled installers. More manufacturers need to step up like Kicker and support the backbone of our future!