Friday Flash Oct 30, 2026
Louisiana Fall Leadership Conference - Middle School and High School
Room DEADLINE is Tuesday Nov 3 don't wait to book. 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
Connect with Carrier: An HVACR Technical Session
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 Details Tuesday, 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.
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 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: 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!
Visit the SkillsUSA dedicated resources page at: LifeSmarts.org/SkillsUSA
Turn Used Shoes into Opportunities with Funds2Orgs
SkillsUSA chapters now have a new, easy way to raise funds while making a positive impact in their communities. Through our partnership with Funds2Orgs, advisors can launch a shoe drive fundraiser that collects gently worn, used and new shoes. Chapters earn money based on the number of shoes collected, which helps support student activities, competitions and chapter initiatives. The program is free to start, provides fundraising support and materials, and promotes sustainability by keeping shoes out of landfills while supporting micro-businesses around the world. Learn how your chapter can get started today by visiting the SkillsUSA Funds2Orgs landing page.
Bring Industry and Real-World Learning Into Your Classroom This November
SkillsUSA’s virtual professional development series continues with five sessions over the next two weeks. Topics range from hands-on technical training with industry partners to practical tools for building work-based learning into your chapter and classroom.
SkillsUSA Advisor Town Hall — Monday, Nov. 2, 5:30 p.m. ET. Your monthly rundown of timely updates, resources and professional development for the month ahead.
Connect with Carrier: An HVACR Technical Session — Tuesday, Nov. 3, 3 p.m. ET. This advisor-only session covers the refrigerant transition, modern variable-speed systems and advances in heat pump technology. It ends with a live demo of digital and wireless diagnostic tools and time for Q&A. A must for HVACR instructors.
SkillsUSA Pathful 101 + Career Profiles — Wednesday, Nov. 4, 4 p.m. or 7 p.m. ET. Take a guided tour of the platform, then see how students use career profiles, including the built-in checks for understanding and note-taking features.
Bringing Business and Industry to the Classroom — Monday, Nov. 9, 5 p.m. ET. Learn a four-step process for inviting, preparing and engaging industry partners, using scripts and templates from the Business and Industry Outreach Guide.
Work-Based Learning with SkillsUSA — Thursday, Nov. 12, 5 p.m. ET. Break down the four Career Discovery Phases and the three components of occupational identity, then brainstorm new work-based learning activities for your chapter and classroom.
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:
Work-Based Learning Resource 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.
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: Submissions Due Nov. 19
Deadline: Nov. 19, 2026, at 6 p.m. ET. The U.S. Department of Education’s Careers in Your Community Challenge invites high schools to propose solutions that improve career exploration at their schools. It’s the fourth challenge in the department’s CTE Momentum series, which aims to prepare high school students for rewarding careers and increase access to career and technical education. Up to 10 winning teams will receive an equal share of the $50,000 prize pool.
Ready to get started? With less than a month until submissions close, CTE teachers can review the challenge details, selection criteria and available resources with students, then work together to identify ways to strengthen career exploration at their school. Subscribe to the CTE Momentum newsletter for challenge updates and reminders.
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.
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