The Palmetto Education Summit 2026

Strong communities and thriving businesses depend on a prepared workforce. This session explores how school–industry partnerships can create meaningful opportunities for students to demonstrate career readiness while allowing employers the opportunity to discover untapped talent. Participants will learn about a collaborative event which evaluates students’ abilities to demonstrate real-world. Participating in these collaborative experiences gives students confidence in their skills and businesses the unexpected employee they never thought to look for. Through innovative partnerships, schools and businesses can work together to build career pathways, strengthen the local workforce pipeline, and provide students with authentic opportunities to showcase their abilities. Attendees will leave with practical ideas for building partnerships that benefit students, schools, and employers alike. Learning Objectives: By the end of this session, participants will be able to: Identify strategies for establishing and sustaining effective school–industry partnerships that enhance student career readiness. Design opportunities for students to demonstrate real-world skills and employability, including those with unconventional or untapped talent. Implement practical approaches for connecting local businesses with schools to create pipelines for discovering and developing future employees.