Session
Business Development Roundtable
Business Development Roundtable: Exploring Industry Growth Strategies (Open to All)
Join fellow business development professionals for a highly interactive and solutions-driven roundtable designed to foster peer-to-peer learning, strategic thinking, and actionable takeaways. This session has two primary goals:
1. Equip you with practical insights and tools you can bring back to strengthen your company’s BD efforts.
2. Identify key areas the business development community within our industry should be focusing on moving forward.
Each table will dive into 3–4 of the following critical industry topics:
- Emerging Tech (AI)
- Market Forecasting
- Building Relationships & Your Brand
- Legislative/Economic Outlook
- Regional Trends
Using SWOT analysis tools provided at each table, participants will collaboratively explore the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats related to their selected topics. After 40 minutes of discussion, we’ll reconvene to share insights, compare notes, and gather feedback across the group.
Come prepared to contribute ideas, challenge assumptions, and walk away with a clearer direction for your business development strategy and the industry’s!
NECA Apprentice Appreciation Day
NECA Innovation Institute Reception (invitation only)
NECA Student Chapters: Understanding Job Offers: More Than Just Salary
This session helps students decode offer letters and evaluate compensation packages-exploring benefits like healthcare, 401(k) plans, bonuses, work culture, career development opportunities, and geographic considerations.
NECA Student Chapters: Voices from the Industry: Real Talk with Contractors at Every Stage
This dynamic panel features a range of professionals-from seasoned NECA contractors to early-career grads-offering students a multi-generational look at what it takes to succeed in electrical construction. Panelists will share honest insights about their career paths, lessons learned, and the evolving expectations of the workplace. A moderated Q&A will explore how the industry has changed, what students should know before entering the workforce, and how to grow a long-term career in the field.
Opening Reception After Party
Opening Reception: Night at the Museum
Step back in time to an era of innovation and opulence at the iconic Griffin Museum of Science and Industry! Inspired by the grandeur of the 1893 World’s Fair and the glamour of the Roaring ‘20s, this year’s event promises an unforgettable celebration.
Explore the wonders of science through interactive NECA installations showcasing the marvels of electricity and 19th-century breakthroughs. Enjoy Chicago’s finest fare with World’s Fair-inspired concessions and 1920s-style cocktails and hors d’oeuvres.
Engage in era-themed games and activities, then hit the dance floor with Milwaukee Tool’s Tool Shed Band.
Many thanks to these fine sponsors:
- Dawn of Transportation sponsored by Graybar
- World’s Fair sponsored by Schneider Electric
- Devil in the White City sponsored by Atkore
- After Party sponsored by Milwaukee Tool
ELECTRI International Electrical Contracting Innovation Challenge
The Electrical Contracting Innovation Challenge (ECIC) is ELECTRI International’s annual challenge for NECA Student Chapters. Student Chapter teams agree that the popular challenge is stimulating because it makes them focus on problem-solving by thinking in new, creative ways. This year’s student challenge focused on innovation and students’ creativity.
Each faculty advisor and student team worked with their local NECA chapter and contractors to deliver a proposal containing information they learned about the electrical contractor’s role when a projects delivery method is design build. Students were to put themselves in the position of an electrical contractor and performed various tasks related to the design of electrical systems in the project provided to them. Teams received a narrative, a basic set of architectural and structural drawings, and a Revit model with just architectural and structural links included. These materials and numerous training sessions held by ELECTRI, provided the foundation for the Student Chapter teams to design and virtually construct the most innovative electrical system to meet their customer’s needs.