The Berks Business Education Coalition (BBEC) will bring business and education leaders together on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, for its annual Business and Education Summit, an event designed to strengthen collaboration and address the evolving needs of Berks County students, employers and communities. The Summit will take place at the DoubleTree by Hilton Reading and will provide an opportunity for business leaders, educators, workforce professionals and community partners to learn from one another, explore emerging workforce issues and identify ways to better prepare students for life after high school. “Business and education have a shared responsibility to prepare our students for their futures,” said Terri Hill, Executive Director of BBEC. “The Summit gives us an opportunity to bring those two communities together, listen to different perspectives and turn those conversations into meaningful action.” Student Voices Take Center Stage One of the highlights of this year’s Summit will be the presentation of findings from a new BBEC student career-readiness research project conducted by Lepson Research Group. The research focuses on Berks County students in grades 7–12 and explores two important questions: What influences students when they are thinking about their future careers, and how do students view the career-readiness support they receive in school? BBEC undertook the research because students themselves are an essential voice in conversations about career readiness and workforce development. “Businesses and educators have been having important conversations about what career readiness should look like,” Hill said. “But we realized there was one voice we needed to hear more clearly — the students. Their perspectives can help us understand what is working, where gaps exist and how we can better support them as they make decisions about their futures.” Jessi Mitchell of Lepson Research Group will present the findings during the Summit. The results are expected to provide valuable insight for educators, employers and community organizations as they consider how to strengthen career exploration and workforce preparation throughout Berks County. Connecting Today’s Students to Tomorrow’s Workforce The Summit will also examine several issues that directly affect the future workforce, including career readiness, financial literacy, human resources and the changing workplace. The program will feature opportunities for participants to hear from experts, engage in interactive discussions and connect with colleagues from throughout the business and education communities. The event will also recognize Berks County students who have demonstrated excellence through internship experiences, highlighting the value of meaningful connections between students and local employers. BBEC has developed and coordinated a variety of programs that connect students, educators and businesses, including Students Interacting with Business, Inside Berks Business, Higher Education Campus Visits, internship programs and Business Advisory Councils. “These programs demonstrate what is possible when businesses and educators work together,” Hill said. “The Summit is an opportunity to build on those successes and explore what we need to do next.” A Community-Wide Conversation The BBEC Business and Education Summit is designed not simply as a conference, but as a forum for collaboration. The organization believes that preparing students for success after high school requires the combined efforts of schools, businesses, higher education and community organizations. BBEC’s work is focused on developing and coordinating programs within the business and education communities that improve student competencies and ensure students have the aspirations, skills and knowledge to plan appropriately for their lives after high school. “The workforce our students will enter is changing rapidly,” Hill said. “We need to make sure our students are prepared not only for the jobs that exist today, but for the opportunities that will exist tomorrow. That requires all of us — business, education and the community — to be part of the conversation.”