SkillsUSA is a national nonprofit organization that prepares students for successful careers in the skilled trades and technical professions through career and technical education (CTE). Serving middle school, high school, and college/postsecondary students, SkillsUSA partners with educators and industry to develop the technical, workplace, and leadership skills employers need while connecting students to meaningful career opportunities. Students demonstrate those skills through local, state, and national competitions that celebrate technical excellence and career readiness.

Through this partnership, NAED creates opportunities for distributors to engage directly with students and educators across career and technical education (CTE), increasing awareness of electrical distribution and the rewarding career opportunities it offers. Electrical distribution complements many of the career pathways students are already preparing to enter, making SkillsUSA an ideal partner for expanding industry awareness and strengthening sustainable talent pipelines.

By engaging with students early in their career exploration, members have the opportunity to build relationships with future workforce talent, increasing awareness of their organizations and supporting their long-term talent acquisition efforts.

Most recently, NAED, alongside Border States, Graybar, McNaughton-McKay, and Sonepar, collaborated to showcase careers in electrical distribution at the SkillsUSA National Leadership & Skills Conference (NLSC) TECHSPO. The NLSC brings together more than 18,000 students, instructors, industry partners, and business leaders from across the country to compete in more than 100 skilled and leadership competitions, explore career pathways, and connect with employers representing a wide range of industries.

Working together, NAED and its member partners introduced students and educators to the diverse career opportunities available throughout electrical distribution, showcased opportunities within their own organizations, and debuted Careers with Power as a new industry resource designed to help future talent discover career opportunities across the electrical distribution industry.