If you’ve been glued to the FIFA World Cup 26 this summer, you know what it looks like when preparation meets opportunity on the biggest stage. Hundreds of thousands of fans in the stands. Teams that spent years developing talent, not just showing up on game day and hoping for the best.
Here’s what I think about as I watch those matches: the best economic developers I know don’t wait for the championship to figure out who’s on the roster. They build their bench all year long.
Why Summer?
Something major happened in Atlanta earlier this month that didn’t get nearly enough attention in our field. SkillsUSA’s National Leadership & Skills Conference (NLSC), which is the largest gathering of America’s future skilled workforce, brought together more than 19,000 attendees, including students, instructors, industry partners, and government officials, for a week-long celebration of career-ready talent. More than 7,000 state champions competed for national gold, silver, and bronze medals across 115 skilled and leadership competitions.
Here’s why this matters to you: SkillsUSA data has just been added as a new element to Site Selection magazine’s Workforce Development Rankings. Translation? The communities that are aligned with Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs aren’t just doing the right thing for students. They’re building a competitive advantage that site selectors are starting to measure. The takeaway is: the talent pipeline is no longer just a workforce issue. It’s a site selection issue, so don’t watch from the sidelines; get in sync with your CTE ecosystem now.
Schedule Your Preseason Visits Now
High school CTE programs, community colleges, and employer-based training partnerships are in planning mode right now. This is the moment to show up and say, “What are you hearing from students? What’s changing?” A conversation in July can shape what students learn in September.
Find Out Who Went to NLSC
Call your state’s SkillsUSA coordinator. Ask who competed at nationals this summer and in what skill areas. Celebrate those students publicly: on your social channels, in your newsletter, and at your next business appreciation event. These are your community’s future workforce champions, and they deserve a standing ovation!
Map Your CTE Programs to Your Industry Targets
Pull out your community’s top employers and target sectors. Now ask: Do you know which CTE programs align with those industries? Do instructors know who your top employers are? If the answer to either question is “not really,” you have work to do, and summer is the perfect time to start connecting those dots.
Host a “Behind the Curtain” Tour
Invite CTE directors and community college workforce program directors to tour a local employer facility. Don’t structure this as a presentation but as a real walk-through where they can see the equipment, the job tasks, and the culture. After all, the best curriculum is written by people who’ve stood on the shop floor.
Ask the Question Nobody Is Asking
When you sit down with a CTE program leader this summer, ask two questions: “What are students asking for that you can’t currently offer?” and “What skills or training needs are local businesses identifying to stay competitive?” The answers often reveal practical gaps that can be addressed through stronger partnerships. Whether it’s equipment, industry credentials, curriculum enhancements, or employer engagement opportunities like internships and job shadows, helping bridge those gaps is exactly the kind of work economic developers are built to do.
Celebrate the Skills That Are Easy to Overlook
We talk a lot about tech and advanced manufacturing (and for good reason). But SkillsUSA’s 115 competition categories include everything from culinary arts to health occupations to graphic design to automotive technology. Your community’s skilled trades talent includes many creative economic engines. Please connect them to your BRE conversations.
Build CTE Into Your Economic Development Story
When a prospect asks, “What does your workforce pipeline look like?” Do you have CTE-driven stats at the ready in response? If not, you should. Document the programs. Know the CTE program directors and engage them often. Know the enrollment numbers. Know what credentials students are earning. This is the kind of specificity that turns a site visit into a site selection.
Summer is your preseason. And the communities that show up now are the ones that will have the deepest bench when it counts.
Now I’ll kick it over to you: what CTE partnerships are you most proud of in your community? I’d love to hear what’s working, so drop me a line!
