Thousands of Hillsborough County high school seniors recently took part in the annual Future Career Academy Business Panel Series, a countywide initiative connecting students directly with local employers and career opportunities.

Hosted by Workforce Development Partners (WDP), the nine-day tour brought business and community leaders to high school auditoriums across Hillsborough County. Each panel offered seniors a firsthand look at potential careers and the chance to ask real-world questions about the future.

“These sessions offer students direct exposure to career pathways and real-world insights from professionals in our community,” said Heather Castle, vice president of Community Engagement and Partnerships for WDP. “We’re committed to ensuring every senior graduates with a solid, actionable plan for their future.”

The 2025 Business Panel Series reached approximately 15,000 students across 31 Hillsborough County public high schools, featuring leaders from hundreds of major employers and more than 16 industries. Participants included TECO, BayCare Health System, HCA Healthcare, Publix, The Mosaic Company, Spectrum, Regions Bank, Florida Blue, the U.S. Army, Tampa General Hospital and Hillsborough County government, among others.

Brian Spiro, principal of Riverview High School since 2021 and under whose leadership the school achieved its first A grade in 10 years in 2025, has nothing but praise for the Future Career Academy program and all participating students. He emphasized the significance of Job Signing Day, held each May, as the end-of-year milestone that celebrates the hard work students put in throughout the year and the positive influence seniors have on underclassmen.

“The signing day is a culminating celebration of our students’ hard work setting themselves up for postsecondary success,” said Spiro. “Just as we celebrate our athletes getting opportunities to play at the next level, we also enjoy our underclass students seeing there are many pathways to success when we celebrate our seniors stepping into the next stage of their journey in becoming productive citizens in a dynamic society. We hope it inspires them to also take advantage of the myriad of resources available.”

This year’s tour began in East Hillsborough, with early sessions held at Brandon, Bloomingdale and Newsome high schools, before moving through communities in Riverview, Plant City, South Tampa, Central Tampa and South Hillsborough.

The Business Panel Series serves as the first of three major in-person experiences that make up the Future Career Academy program. Students also complete weekly workforce readiness lessons in English classes, learning about resumes, interviews and personal finance to prepare for the workforce.

Castle said the program focuses on connection, giving students a clear view of local opportunities while introducing businesses to the next generation of ready-to-work talent.

For more information about Workforce Development Partners or the Future Career Academy, visit https://workforcedevelopmentpartners.com/.