Spotlight for Career Services Professionals
When it comes to selecting students for their internship and co-op programs, employers have a set of five competencies that are “must haves,” according to NACE’s 2017 Internship & Co-op Survey.
In the three years since this survey first asked about the competencies that are most important to employers when selecting students for their internship and co-op programs, five competencies have stood out as crucial for intern and co-op hires to possess. (See Figure 1 and Figure 2.) These include:
- Information processing;
- Teamwork;
- Planning/prioritizing;
- Decision making/problem solving; and
- Verbal communication.
In fact, at least 95 percent of employers responding to this question see information processing and teamwork as critical components of an internship or co-op recruit’s appeal.
NACE’s 2017 Internship & Co-op Survey was conducted from November 21, 2016, to February 17, 2017, from NACE employer members; there were 276 respondents, representing 26.4 percent of all eligible respondents. The 2017 Internship & Co-op Survey report is available to participants through MyNACE. An executive summary of the 2017 Internship & Co-op Survey is available on NACEWeb.
Figure 1: Preferred competencies for intern hires
| Competency | |
|---|---|
| % of respondents | |
| Information processing | |
| 2015 | 95.6% |
| 2016 | 94.4% |
| 2017 | 98.7% |
| Teamwork | |
| 2015 | 96.9% |
| 2016 | 94.9% |
| 2017 | 94.9% |
| Planning/prioritizing | |
| 2015 | 92.6% |
| 2016 | 93.5% |
| 2017 | 89.7% |
| Decision making/problem solving | |
| 2015 | 90.4% |
| 2016 | 84.6% |
| 2017 | 89.7% |
| Verbal communication | |
| 2015 | 90.6% |
| 2016 | 90.7% |
| 2017 | 88.5% |
| Data analysis | |
| 2015 | 75.4% |
| 2016 | 71.0% |
| 2017 | 76.9% |
| Computer skills | |
| 2015 | 66.2% |
| 2016 | 63.2% |
| 2017 | 61.5% |
| Job-specific technical skills/knowledge | |
| 2015 | 58.3% |
| 2016 | 58.4% |
| 2017 | 51.3% |
| Written communication | |
| 2015 | 45.0% |
| 2016 | 37.1% |
| 2017 | 30.8% |
| Selling/influencing | |
| 2015 | 24.9% |
| 2016 | 17.8% |
| 2017 | 28.2% |
| Competency | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|
| % of respondents | |||
| Information processing | 95.6% | 94.4% | 98.7% |
| Teamwork | 96.9% | 94.9% | 94.9% |
| Planning/prioritizing | 92.6% | 93.5% | 89.7% |
| Decision making/problem solving | 90.4% | 84.6% | 89.7% |
| Verbal communication | 90.6% | 90.7% | 88.5% |
| Data analysis | 75.4% | 71.0% | 76.9% |
| Computer skills | 66.2% | 63.2% | 61.5% |
| Job-specific technical skills/knowledge | 58.3% | 58.4% | 51.3% |
| Written communication | 45.0% | 37.1% | 30.8% |
| Selling/influencing | 24.9% | 17.8% | 28.2% |
In this analysis, a criterion was defined as “important” if a respondent who used that criterion considered it either “very important” (4) or “extremely important” (5) on a 5-point scale.
Figure 2: Preferred competencies for co-op hires
| Competency | |
|---|---|
| % of respondents | |
| Information processing | |
| 2015 | 94.3% |
| 2016 | 95.9% |
| 2017 | 100.0% |
| Teamwork | |
| 2015 | 96.7% |
| 2016 | 95.9% |
| 2017 | 94.9% |
| Planning/prioritizing | |
| 2015 | 93.4% |
| 2016 | 89.7% |
| 2017 | 91.0% |
| Decision making/problem solving | |
| 2015 | 87.6% |
| 2016 | 85.4% |
| 2017 | 89.7% |
| Verbal communication | |
| 2015 | 89.3% |
| 2016 | 90.7% |
| 2017 | 85.9% |
| Data analysis | |
| 2015 | 80.3% |
| 2016 | 78.6% |
| 2017 | 82.1% |
| Computer skills | |
| 2015 | 72.7% |
| 2016 | 69.8% |
| 2017 | 64.1% |
| Job-specific technical skills/knowledge | |
| 2015 | 69.2% |
| 2016 | 66.7% |
| 2017 | 57.7% |
| Written communication | |
| 2015 | 51.7% |
| 2016 | 39.2% |
| 2017 | 32.1% |
| Selling/influencing | |
| 2015 | 31.7% |
| 2016 | 10.3% |
| 2017 | 23.1% |
| Competency | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|
| % of respondents | |||
| Information processing | 94.3% | 95.9% | 100.0% |
| Teamwork | 96.7% | 95.9% | 94.9% |
| Planning/prioritizing | 93.4% | 89.7% | 91.0% |
| Decision making/problem solving | 87.6% | 85.4% | 89.7% |
| Verbal communication | 89.3% | 90.7% | 85.9% |
| Data analysis | 80.3% | 78.6% | 82.1% |
| Computer skills | 72.7% | 69.8% | 64.1% |
| Job-specific technical skills/knowledge | 69.2% | 66.7% | 57.7% |
| Written communication | 51.7% | 39.2% | 32.1% |
| Selling/influencing | 31.7% | 10.3% | 23.1% |
In this analysis, a criterion was defined as “important” if a respondent who used that criterion considered it either “very important” (4) or “extremely important” (5) on a 5-point scale.
