A Case for Career Coaching
The Impact, Effectiveness and Sustainability of Career Coaching
I received this from a client and wanted to share! This is a great study and helps show the incredible benefits of career coaching.
Helen Mancuso, MPA CWDP CPCC, at Luzerne Community College, presented this information to the Department of Labor in 2017. “Effectively serving our students through career coaching is an innovative-yet fundamental- tenet of the $10M Trade Adjustment Assistance Career Training (TAACCCT) grant funded by The Department of Labor. Career Coaching was a pioneering concept to community colleges at the inception of the grant. Career Coaches are different from academic advisers who concentrate on transcripts, programs of study, and paperwork. Rather, a Career Coach is a guide in goal development and helps map career paths. The coach helps clarify purposeful employment-seeking methods.
Coaches often counsel on supportive services, referrals or soft skill development. At a recent national convening of TAACCCT grantees in Washington, D.C., we recapitulated the value of having a Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC) on campus. We found the ideal program in PARW/CC. This program gave the training coach tools to use immediately in individual and group coaching sessions. The modules provided our career coaches with ideas for workshops almost immediately. All TAACCCT staff completed the program.
A Case for Coaches
Only students in TAACCCT-funded programs receive career coaching. The data reflects a real impact on students who receive our services. We examined the impact of these services on enrollment and retention in community colleges. Our findings reiterated the value-add of intrusive supportive services. Measuring programmatic success began with evaluating participant satisfaction though surveys and enrollment numbers. The survey revealed 79.4-84.3% of students at Luzerne chose “very satisfied” with auxiliary services.
Next, the students ranked the services they used. More than 50% of students rated resume building, job search assistance, and job placement as the most services used. The more coaching services used – the stronger the satisfaction. The most successful students used more than one service. On average, persistence for students enrolled in TAACCCT –funded programs is 14% higher when compared to other non-TAACCCT college-funded trade programs for the duration of the grant. Which means students who receive career-coaching services complete their degree at a higher rate than non-TAACCCT students in similar programs do.”
It is no secret that enrollment in community colleges is low across the nation. Could career coaching be the answer? A student who persists does not have to be recruited. Retaining students is more financially advantageous to the longevity of programs. Happy students tell their friends about their great experience!
In Sum, Community College Career Coaches offer:
- Improvements in the financial picture through increased tuition income for re-enrollees
- Improvements in performance and persistence
- Improvements in the satisfactions and recommended services metric
- Career Coaching: Impact, Effectiveness, and Sustainability
