Friday Flash Oct 16, 2026
Louisiana Fall Leadership Conference - Middle School and High School
Book your rooms before Nov 3 to ensure space. https://book.passkey.com/e/51311878
Get ready to bring your chapter’s leadership to the next level!
The 2026 SkillsUSA Louisiana Fall Leadership Conference will give students practical leadership training, opportunities to connect with members from across the state, and tools they can bring home to strengthen their local chapters.
This year’s conference will be held November 16–17 at the Hilton Baton Rouge Capitol Center. We encourage you to bring your chapter officers, emerging student leaders, and students who are ready to become more involved in SkillsUSA.
Important Notes:
Hotel reservation deadline: November 3
Conference registration deadline: November 6
Registration fee: $100 per participant (Monday Lunch and Dinner Included)
Late fee: $10 per participant after November 6
IBM SkillsBuild Technical Session
Bring emerging technology into your classroom with free, workforce-aligned resources from IBM SkillsBuild.
Join SkillsUSA and IBM for an advisor-only webinar with Kiki Huckaby, Corporate Social Responsibility Manager at IBM. Explore practical ways to incorporate artificial intelligence, data and cybersecurity into your instruction, and learn how to participate in the IBM SkillsBuild Educator Challenge for a chance to win an IBM-branded The North Face fleece.
Date: Oct. 29, 2026
Time: 4–5 p.m. ET
During this session, you’ll learn how to:
· Access IBM SkillsBuild’s free learning resources and credential opportunities.
· Connect course content to your training program and classroom instruction.
· Get started with the SkillsUSA + IBM SkillsBuild Challenge and track course completion.
IBM SkillsBuild Educator Challenge
Facilitate at least 30 course completions for a chance to receive an IBM-branded The North Face fleece. Join the webinar to learn the participation requirements and how to verify progress.
Registration:
· Membership submitted? Register through SkillsUSA Pathful.
· Membership not yet submitted? Complete this registration form to attend.
Take Up the Challenge! National Conference Pin and T-shirt Design
SkillsUSA is offering the 2027 National Leadership & Skills Conference (NLSC) Pin and T-shirt Design Challenge to all dues-paying student members. The winning designs will become the official T-shirt and pin for the 2027 NLSC. The challenge is open now, entries must be received by February 1, 2027, at midnight ET, and winners will be announced on February 8. Download the rules below:
Connect with Carrier!
Join Carrier for an advisor-only SkillsUSA Technical Session to explore industry insights, helpful resources and practical ideas you can bring back to your classroom. Connect with industry expertise and discover ways to support your students’ learning and career exploration.
Event DetailsTuesday, November 3 | 3–4 p.m. ET
How to Register
Membership submitted? Register through SkillsUSA Pathful.
Membership not yet submitted? Complete this registration form to attend.
Work-Based Learning Spotlight: Industry Tours Guide
Planning a company visit or facility tour? SkillsUSA’s Industry Tours Guide can help you turn the experience into a meaningful work-based learning opportunity.
The guide supports intentional planning before, during and after a tour, with strategies to prepare students, coordinate with industry partners and help students reflect on the careers, skills and workplace expectations they observe.
Use the guide to plan your next industry tour! Access it on SkillsUSA Pathful:
Find the Work-Based Learning Toolkit under Professional Member Benefits and select More Details.
Locate Work-Based Learning Guides and select Preview.
Choose Download the Industry Tours Guide, then select Download Document
Help Us Celebrate Excellence in Trade and Industrial Education: Nominations Due Oct. 30
Know someone who is making a difference in Trade and Industrial Education? The ACTE T&I Division, in partnership with SkillsUSA, invites you to nominate an outstanding professional whose dedication, leadership and contributions are helping strengthen career and technical education. Honorees will be recognized through the National Trade and Industrial Education Division Awards 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. 2–5 in New Orleans, and the nomination deadline is
Oct. 30, 2026. Eligible individuals may be nominated in the categories below, and self-nominations are welcome. If you submit a nomination on someone else’s behalf, please notify the nominee.
For additional conference information, please visit ACTE CareerTech VISION.
Level UP Your Membership –– and Earn Free SkillsUSA Resources!
SkillsUSA advisors have an extra reason to grow their chapters this year!
Advisors who register at least 15 student members in one technical program, along with one or more instructors as professional members, by Nov. 15 will receive a free SkillsUSA Educational Resource.
Chapters can also earn SkillsUSA Framework banners by growing their membership over last year. Chapters that register 25 more members than last year will receive a SkillsUSA Framework banner, while chapters registering 50 or more additional members will receive two Chapter Framework banners.
Qualifying advisors will receive an email after Nov. 15 with instructions for redeeming their incentives.
Start recruiting now, grow your chapter and Level Up your SkillsUSA membership! Check out the promotional flyer.
Careers in Your Community Challenge
The U.S. Department of Education has launched the Careers in Your Community Challenge, the fourth challenge in its CTE Momentum series to prepare high school students for rewarding careers and increase access to career and technical education (CTE). The challenge invites high schools to propose solutions that improve career exploration at their schools. Submissions are due by Nov. 19, 2026 at 6 p.m. ET, and up to 10 winning teams will receive an equal share of the $50,000 prize pool.
Ready to get started? CTE teachers can review the challenge details, selection criteria and available resources with students, then work together to identify opportunities to strengthen career exploration at your schools. Subscribe to the CTE Momentum newsletter for challenge updates and reminders.
Capitol Gains
Advocacy is a skill like any other, and 471 SkillsUSA students, advisors and state directors from 31 state associations put it to work at the 2026 Washington Leadership Training Institute, Sept. 26–30. After days of training on the SkillsUSA Framework and CTE policy, students met face to face with their senators and representatives to make the case for career and technical education and Perkins funding. The week also welcomed WorldSkills USA competitors fresh from Shanghai and closed with 297 members earning the SkillsUSA National Statesman Award.
Read the full story on the SkillsUSA Champions hub.
Share Your Community Service Stories with SkillsUSA!
The SkillsUSA Champions digital hub provides new content frequently, from inspiring features to stories about the great work chapters and partners are doing. We know your chapters are doing some amazing community service work this holiday season and we would love to write about it. To submit a story idea, send us the details through our “Submit a Story” link, and we’ll contact you.
Make48 SkillsUSA 2027 team applications are officially open to the SkillsUSA network, and we'd love for your students to be part of it! Feel Free to share this with your network!
New to Make48? We're a national product-design competition where student teams take on a real challenge and race to invent, build, and pitch a brand-new product. It builds creativity, teamwork, and problem-solving in the best way possible — fast, hands-on, and unforgettable.
Here's what it looks like for SkillsUSA chapters: your teams apply now for a spot in the SkillsUSA + Make48 Competition, held live at SkillsUSA NLSC 2027! Selected teams earn their place to compete at NLSC, where the whole experience is filmed for our TV DocuSeries on Roku.
Here's what you need to know:
Applications close October 31, 2026
We're taking only the first 40 applications, and spots are already filling; some have been claimed by our early-access schools since August, so apply soon to grab yours
The sooner your teams apply, the better their odds
Apply here: https://tinyurl.com/SkillsUSA2027apply
See all the details: https://www.make48.com/skillsusa-2027-interest
Check out the videos below to see what's ahead:
Like & Subscribe to our Make48 YouTube Channel
Application Highlights:
Team = 2-3 students + 1 teacher/advisor
You'll need your SkillsUSA chapter number
You'll come up with a team name and upload a fun team photo
Tell us who your favorite Tool Tech is and why
Share the skills you've gained through SkillsUSA that give your team an edge
Time to shine — your big creative moment, a 60-90 second video! We're not looking for a talking head reading a script. Get creative, show your team's personality, and make your case for why we should pick you. Film in your shop, run a demo, act out a skit, make us laugh. Show us, don't just tell us. Upload your video to YouTube as Unlisted (not Private, or we won't be able to view it) and paste the link in your application. Lights, camera, personality!
The Process:
Our crew reviews every application as it comes in, selecting from the first 40 teams.
Top teams get a call: Before we announce, we'll reach out to our top teams by phone to walk through the final details of their selection. Once everything has been discussed and agreed to, we move forward with the official announcement.
December 1, 2026 — Competing Teams Announced: We'll announce the six teams who advance to the Regional Play-off competition.
The Regional Play-off takes place at the SkillsUSA National Leadership & Skills Conference (NLSC) in June 2027. You'll register, plan, and pay for NLSC as you normally would. Please note: teams competing with Make48 will not be able to participate in any other competition at the SkillsUSA NLSC.
Feel free to share this with another SkillsUSA teacher!
We can't wait to see what your teams create.
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