Friday Flash Oct 10, 2025
- Jeremy Boudreaux
- Oct 10
- 4 min read
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.
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:
3D Visualization and Animation
Commercial sUAS Drone
Interactive Application and Video Game Development
Job Interview
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.
Fall Professional Development Offerings
SkillsUSA has a series of new virtual Professional Development Training Sessions for October, November and December. Offerings include new advisor training, Chapter Excellence Program training, Work-Based Learning, SkillsUSA Pathful, Program of Work and more! Don’t miss this convenient and free opportunity to enhance your skills and gain SkillsUSA knowledge that will support your chapter’s success! Class space is limited, so be sure to secure your place early. Participants will earn a Professional Development (PD) certificate. For questions, contact Customer Care.
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).
Quiz Bowl and LifeSmarts | Free Competition Resources
Are you an advisor or team member of a SkillsUSA Quiz Bowl team? Do you want to prepare for the LifeSmarts topic questions? Have your team take the LifeSmarts SkillsUSA Quiz Bowl Preparatory Quiz during the month of October!
How to Take Advantage of Free Resources:
To compete in the LifeSmarts SkillsUSA Quiz Bowl Preparatory Quiz, advisors (coaches) should register at: https://competition.lifesmarts.org/register
Important: Set your team type to SkillsUSA QB and to Varsity (grades 9 – 12) or Junior Varsity (grades 6-8)
· 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 Quiz Bowl Preparatory Quiz will only be available to the team captain. The team captain logs in between October 1 – 31, then clicks the “Quizzes” tab on the left side of the page, then opens the “SkillsUSA Quiz Bowl Preparatory Quiz” 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 monthly SkillsUSA TeamSmarts quizzes. All team members may use 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 Quiz Bowl!
Membership Registration Training Now Available
The SkillsUSA Customer Care Team (CCT) is offering membership registration training sessions. Whether you are a new or experienced advisor, these sessions will guide you step-by-step through the process of registering your members. It’s also a great opportunity to ask questions and receive personalized assistance from our team. Sign up for a session that fits your schedule. For questions, contact the Customer Care Team at 844-875-4557 or customercare@skillsusa.org.
Apply Now for ACTE Teacher and Lifetime Achievement Awards
The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE), in partnership with SkillsUSA, is now accepting nominations for the National Trade and Industrial Education Division Awards, which will be presented at the annual ACTE CareerTech VISION conference. (Please note: the Trade and Industrial Division Awards are separate from the ACTE Excellence Awards.)
This year’s conference takes place Dec. 9-12 in Nashville, and the nomination deadline is Nov. 7, 2025. Eligible individuals may be nominated in the categories below, and self-nominations are welcome. If you nominate someone else, please be sure to notify the nominee(s).
For additional conference information, please visit ACTE CareerTech VISION.
One-on-One Coaching for New Advisors
Are you a new advisor looking for guidance on establishing and managing your chapter? SkillsUSA offers personalized, one-on-one coaching sessions with Kelli Engelbrecht. Schedule your 30-minute Zoom coaching appointment. For questions, contact Kelli Engelbrecht.
The SkillsUSA Store- Deals and Steals
Fall into deals! With fall in full swing, it’s a perfect time to stock up on some fantastic items before they’re gone. Check out our Deals and Steals for everything from jackets and sweatshirts to polos and fun lifestyle items
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