Atlanta, Ga. — The future workforce for careers in business, marketing, hospitality, finance and entrepreneurship will be on display in Atlanta this month as a celebration of student achievement provides a career-focused experience for emerging leaders to apply classroom learning to real-world business scenarios.
The 80th annual DECA International Career Development Conference (ICDC) takes place April 25–28 in Atlanta, welcoming more than 26,000 high school students, advisors and business professionals from around the world, making it the largest conference in DECA’s history.
The DECA ICDC is a culminating, career-focused experience in which emerging leaders apply their knowledge to real-world business scenarios. Throughout the conference, students will engage in competitive events designed to mirror today’s business environment — analyzing case studies, developing strategic solutions, and presenting professional pitch decks to industry experts.
“DECA’s ICDC is a catalyst for the next generation of business leaders,” said Frank Peterson, CAE, DECA Inc. Executive Director. “DECA members gain the skills, confidence and experience needed for a future-ready workforce. They’re not just learning about business, they’re also actively preparing to lead with the skills employers are looking for, like critical thinking, communication, innovation and the ability to execute under pressure.”
DECA’s competitive events program, which engages more than 250,000 student members annually, supports the National Career Clusters® Framework to provide high-quality Career and Technical Education (CTE) and career pathway programs. DECA’s programs focus on careers in the areas of marketing and sales, management and entrepreneurship, financial services, and hospitality, events and tourism.
Attendees earned top honors at their state/provincial conferences earlier this year to qualify for this pinnacle of competition, where they will present their ideas and innovative strategies in front of business leaders and industry professionals. More than 1,000 business professionals, mostly from Atlanta-based companies, will evaluate the students to determine this year’s DECA international champions.
DECA will award nearly half a million dollars to scholarship recipients, competitive event and corporate challenge champions, recognizing excellence and supporting continued academic and professional growth. Businesses and organizations partnering with DECA include Adobe, American Institute of CPAs, American Marketing Association, AT&T, Chick-fil-A, Hilton Worldwide, IBM, Intuit, J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation, National Retail Federation Foundation, Nestle, Piper Sandler, Raising Cane's, and nearly a hundred more.
“Our business partners recognize that supporting DECA members is an investment in their future workforce,” said Sarah Cozewith, DECA Inc. Chief Partnership Officer. “Their commitment helps bridge the gap between education and industry, ensuring students gain the skills, experiences and confidence needed to be truly workforce-ready and prepared for what’s next.”
Conference highlights include the competitive events program, the emerging leader series providing career-ready training for 3,000 members, advisor professional learning and more than 85 organizations joining ICDC's career + college exhibition to showcase pathways to a successful future beyond high school.
About DECA Inc.
DECA is a career and technical student organization that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality, and management. DECA enhances the preparation for college and careers by providing co-curricular programs that integrate into classroom instruction, apply learning, connect to business and promote competition. DECA student members leverage their DECA experience to become academically prepared, community-oriented, professionally responsible, and experienced leaders. DECA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with more than 316,000 members in 4,500 high school and college chapters in nearly all 50 United States, the District of Columbia, Canada, Puerto Rico and Germany.
For more information about DECA, visit http://www.deca.org.
About DECA’s ICDC Impact in Atlanta
Beyond its educational impact, the conference is expected in just five days to generate more than $21 million for the Atlanta economy, including 45,000 hotel room nights across 52 hotels, 300,000 meals and more than 26,000 tickets to local attractions such as the Georgia Aquarium, World of Coca-Cola, Six Flags Over Georgia and the College Football Hall of Fame.
The Grand Opening Session and Grand Awards Sessions will be held at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, featuring Atlanta-based DJ EU, with the educational program taking place at the Georgia World Congress Center.
