Copy of Friday Flash Oct 10, 2025

Louisiana Fall Leadership

The Fall Leadership Conference for this year is scheduled for November 17-18, 2025, and will be held once again in Lafayette, LA. This state conference is specifically organized to offer additional training for chapter officers and leaders, focusing on the development of your school's chapter. Advisors will also benefit from specialized training sessions. Detailed information has been emailed to lead advisors. Please refer to the link below for further details.

FLC Information

SkillsUSA Member Benefits for Students

Participation in SkillsUSA can be a life-changing experience for students. Membership opens doors to new opportunities, provides encouragement from dedicated advisors, and builds confidence through involvement in conferences, competitions, and SkillsUSA Framework development. The following are some of the key benefits students gain through participation:

• Recognition for achievement through the SkillsUSA Career Essentials suite, the Chapter Excellence Program (CEP), and a variety of scholarship programs that honor student and chapter success.

• Career exploration and workforce readiness through SkillsUSA Pathful, a dynamic digital platform that connects students with real professionals, virtual job shadows, and industry resources to help them build skills and prepare for future success.

• Skill development through the annual Program of Work, which encourages members to grow in the classroom, the workplace, and their local chapter.

• Meaningful relationships with peers who share common interests while representing diverse backgrounds and experiences.

• Access to SkillsUSA programs that strengthen personal and professional skills through hands-on and engaging experiences.

• Opportunities to advocate for career and technical education (CTE) and promote the mission of SkillsUSA at the local, state, and national levels.

• Leadership in action through chapter initiatives and activities that allow students to apply their skills in real-world settings.

• Leadership roles at the committee, chapter, district, state, and national levels, giving members the chance to apply and refine their leadership abilities.

• Recognition for excellence through participation in local, state, and national career competitions that showcase technical skills and professionalism.

Bring the SkillsUSA Framework to Life

The Framework is more than words on a page. It is the foundation of student growth. Use our ready-to-go lessons, assessments, bellringers, and visual assets to help students self-assess and reflect on their personal, workplace, and technical skills grounded in academics. Even a 10-minute activity this week can spark meaningful conversations. Choose a bellringer in class this week and share reflections in your next chapter meeting. Checkpoint 2: Framework

Strengthen Your Chapter Plan with Middle School Momentum Resources

Build your chapter’s foundation for success with October’s Middle School Momentum focus on the Program of Work and Chapter Excellence Program. This month’s resources help advisors and students plan meaningful activities, set achievable goals, and celebrate their progress throughout the year. Download the ready-to-use lesson plans and prepared templates to kick-start your chapter’s planning and recognition efforts today.

There’s Still Time to Apply for SkillsUSA Aerotek “Make Your Mark” Scholarships

SkillsUSA members nationwide in select trade areas are encouraged to apply for the SkillsUSA Aerotek “Make Your Mark” scholarship. The scholarship is for SkillsUSA members with direct educational costs for the spring 2026 term at a community college, technical college, certificate program or apprenticeship program. Applications are being accepted until Nov. 7. Scholarship winners will receive up to $5,000 toward tuition, books, tools, on-campus housing or other approved direct educational expenses. Applicants must be enrolled in continuing education or career training in one of these pathways: Construction; Manufacturing; Transportation, Distribution & Logistics; Telecommunications Cabling Training; and Electronics Technology or Industrial Engineering Technology. For more information, review all eligibility criteria and the flyer (Versión en Español).

Health Knowledge Bowl and LifeSmarts | Free Competition Resources

Are you an advisor or team member of a SkillsUSA Health Knowledge Bowl team? Do you want to prepare for the LifeSmarts topic questions? Have your team compete in the November LifeSmarts SkillsUSA Health & Safety Challenge Quiz to gain knowledge in preparation for state and National SkillsUSA Health Knowledge Bowls!

How to Take Advantage of Free Resources:

To compete in the LifeSmarts SkillsUSA Health and Safety Challenge, advisors (coaches) should register at: https://competition.lifesmarts.org/register

Important: Set your team type to SkillsUSA HKB and Varsity (grades 9 – 12)

• The coach designates one student as the team captain. The student who will be the team captain must register at the above location and join the team their advisor has established.

• The SkillsUSA Health and Safety Challenge will only be available to the team captain. The team captain logs in between November 1 – 30, then clicks the “Quizzes” tab on the left side of the page, then opens the “SkillsUSA Health and Safety Challenge” folder.

• The captain leads the team in working together to complete the quiz.

• Only the captain is required to register and log in for the competition. However, all student team members will benefit by registering at the above location and joining the team the advisor has created to take practice quizzes, the daily quiz, and access the free study tools.

• This also makes your team eligible to participate in other LifeSmarts competitions, events, scholarships, and awards!

Questions? Email LifeSmarts. Get ready now to show your LifeSmarts in the SkillsUSA Health Knowledge Bowl!

Opportunity to Showcase STEM Projects and Innovations

Submissions are now open for the 2026 National STEM Festival (US Edition). Students in grades 7–12 from across the US and its territories are encouraged to submit STEM projects, innovations, or inventions addressing real-world problems. The highest-scoring project in each state and territory earns an expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., June 22–27, 2026, where students will present to corporate executives, government officials, and media; participate in mentor sessions; engage in hands-on STEM; and share their work at a public expo.

Deadline: Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. ET / 8:59 p.m. PT

Submit here.

Career Essentials Support for Instructors

If you are beginning your journey with the SkillsUSA Career Essentials Suite this school year, support from SkillsUSA is available every step of the way! Instructors can call 844-875-4557 or email customercare@skillsusa.org for assistance with:

• Ordering Career Essentials for your students

• Developing an implementation plan

• Creating administrative accounts for new instructors

• Logging into your Career Essentials account

• Using the dashboard to monitor progress and performance

• Learning more about Career Essentials or the Absorb learning management system

If you are interested in learning more about using Career Essentials to define, implement and measure the development of career-readiness skills in your classroom, please feel free to contact our Customer Care Team, customercare@skillsusa.org, to schedule an overview meeting.

Time to Shop! Don’t Miss Out on Deals & Steals in the SkillsUSA Store

Check out the Deals & Steals section of the SkillsUSA Store and snag some merchandise before it sells out. A wide variety of items are on sale at prices up to 50% off! Grab gifts for your favorite SkillsUSA supporters, members and volunteers or outfit yourself with SkillsUSA-branded apparel, accessories, and more.

NLSC 2026 Championships | Competition List Update

The Office of Workforce Development is pleased to announce the following competition updates for the 2026 National Leadership & Skills Conference (NLSC). Gateway resources and related materials have been updated to reflect these changes.

New Middle School Competitions at NLSC 2026

Beginning at NLSC 2026, the following competitions will be introduced for middle school competitors:

1. 3D Visualization and Animation

2. Commercial sUAS Drone

3. Interactive Application and Video Game Development

4. Job Interview

5. Quiz Bowl

All competition guidelines outlined in the applicable official SkillsUSA Technical Standards apply to these middle school competitions. Any additional guidance or modifications will be published in future competition updates. Advisors and students can download the official list of competitions available at NLSC 2026 from the Competition Updates webpage download section.

Louisiana Member Spotlight

Fontainebleau High School student, Leah Sanchez won Gold in Screen Printing at the 2025 National Leadership and Skills Conference that was held in Atlanta, GA. Leah's skills demonstrated she was the best from her school, the best in Louisiana, and the best in the country.

Click on the Picture below to see more about Leah's Accomplishments.