By Bill DeBaun, Senior Director, Data and Strategic Initiatives
Reading time: Three minutes
Understanding how education and training after high school impacts labor market results is a prime interest of practitioners, policymakers, and students themselves, but the ability of these stakeholders to meaningfully access and act on that information
varies widely. A Spotlight Session at the National College Attainment Network's (NCAN) 2025 National Conference in New Orleans, LA, offered insight and a path forward to increasing the uptake of this valuable data.
The importance of using these data for casemaking around the value of postsecondary education, including putting some real facts and figures against that value.
Highlighting different opportunities to students that are specific to their region and emphasizing that labor market outcomes aren’t monolithic
Modulating students’ expectations and offering them a more accurate sense of what the plausible/possible outcomes are, given labor market shifts
Wanting to understand how is AI disrupting job markets, especially for recent college graduates
Leavitt addressed these issues and shared with the group the five Principles for Quality Education-to-Career Guidance, released last fall and
created by a cross-sector advisory group convened by the foundation. NCAN recently formally endorsed these Principles:
Taken together, these principles recommend that the guidance students receive include information on how career fields map back to an academic program, and considers what students are already bringing to their fields of study (e.g., skills, passions,
interests). The principles also emphasize the active role students should play in each step of their education and career and encourages advisors and coaches to meet students where they are. Ultimately, quality education-to-career guidance is grounded
in relationships that build social capital and grow professional/social networks, and is informed by data that is recent, reliable, and relevant.
The foundation measures students' access to education-to-career guidance by asking about three elements: "
Are you getting guidance that will connect you to the postsecondary career you want?
Did your guidance include labor market information related to your studies?
Did you get support with following through on your education and career planning?
In her presentation, Leavitt made the case that not enough students are receiving quality education-to-career guidance. Strada estimates that nationally the percentage of 2020-2023 graduates who received quality coaching was 24% for two-year public institutions
and 20% for four-year institutions.
Since research shows that students who receive all three elements of quality coaching are more likely to have their first job require a degree. and report that their education positively benefited their overall well-being and helped them achieve their
goals. These findings are consistent regardless of major.
So how can institutions, community-based organizations, and other caring adults and advisors can incorporate labor market information into the career guidance they deliver to students? Leavitt offered suggestions for the sources, strategies, and considerations
around this delivery.
In addition to Leavitt’s suggestions, the audience offered its own sources of labor market information to share with students following a collaborative “design sprint.” A few of these included:
Connecting students with quality education-to-career guidance that is relevant, timely, and data-informed has long been a bedrock of NCAN members. The Principles shared by Leavitt offer programs and practitioners the chance to compare their activities
against expert-developed elements of what comprises high-quality education-to-career guidance. This Spotlight Session at #NCAN2025 was a great opportunity to learn more about this effort, and it won’t be the last. Look out for more information on
education-to-career guidance and labor market information in future NCAN blog posts and webinars!
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