Considering the Impact of Participation and Employment of Students in Campus Activities and Collegiate Recreation on the Development of the Skills Employers Desire Most

In the spring of 2014, the National Association for Campus Activities (NACA) and NIRSA: Leaders in Collegiate Recreation, with the support of their respective boards, launched a working group to look at how the skills gained through participation and employment in cocurricular experiences helped to prepare students for their careers. The team was comprised of senior-level staff from both associations, current and former members of their boards of directors and senior scholar/practitioners with a history of involvement in the organizations. The goal of the project was to identify ways students are gaining skills that make them desirable to employers. The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) produces an annual “Job Outlook Survey,” which asks employers to rank the skills they find most desirable when hiring college graduates (NACE, 2014).

Sometimes called “soft skills,” these include such areas as working in teams, and verbal and written communication.