NACE MEMBER BENEFIT

NACE members can access a free copy of NACE Brief: Supporting Caregiving Students in Their Education and Career Success.

Caregiving students—those who are caring for a child and/or other family member while pursuing their education—are more likely to tap into much of the help the career center can offer compared with their non-caregiving counterparts, but may be stymied by scheduling conflicts that arise with in-person offerings.

Results of NACE’s survey of two-year college students found that caregiving students were more likely to consult with college career counselors/coaches and engage with employer representatives than their peers. They also were more inclined to take part in virtual career fairs. However, they lagged their counterparts when it came to participating in on-campus employer info sessions and in-person career fairs. (See Figure 1.)

Interestingly, caregiving (39.1%) and non-caregiving students (38.6%) took part in local/community/industry in-person career fairs at about the same rate. This suggests that schedule may be the determining factor, with local in-person fairs held at times convenient to the general population, not just college students.

The survey’s results indicate that caregiving students are more likely to take advantage of career services offerings that can flex with their other responsibilities. Maintaining (or adding) online and hybrid options at the career center can provide caregiving students with greater opportunity to search for jobs and internships and engage in career development.

NACE’s 2022 Two-Year Student Survey was conducted February 22 through May 15, 2022, among students at NACE-member schools classified as either associate degree institutions or bachelor’s/associate institutions in the Carnegie Classification system. In total, 1,863 students from 44 schools took part; of those, 319 students reported caring for a child and/or other family member. Results are in NACE Brief: Supporting Caregiving Students in Their Education and Career Success.