Spotlight for Recruiting Professionals
Planned social activities and paid holidays top the list of the benefits employers most commonly offer to their interns and co-ops, according to NACE’s 2019 Internship & Co-op Survey Report.
These are among the least expensive benefits for employers to offer. Interestingly, however, even though paid holidays are still a relatively commonly offered benefit—provided by half of responding organizations—they have dropped nearly 30 percent for interns and nearly 13 percent for co-ops from just two years ago. (See Figure 1 and Figure 2.)
In last year’s survey, responding employers dropped some of the more costly benefits they had provided to interns and co-ops, including medical insurance and company-matched 401(k) plans. Respondents to the current survey increased these offerings to co-ops.
Data for the 2019 Internship & Co-op Survey Report were collected from December 3, 2018, to February 22, 2019, from NACE employer members; there were 262 respondents representing 28.2 percent of all eligible respondents. The report will be available later this spring.
Figure 1: Select benefits offered to interns: 2017-19
| Benefit |
2019 |
2018 |
2017 |
| Planned social activities |
88.9% |
84.2% |
84.6% |
| Paid holidays |
49.7% |
52.0% |
76.9% |
| Company-matched 401(k) plan |
25.7% |
26.0% |
50.0% |
| Medical insurance |
17.5% |
17.9% |
48.1% |
| Tuition reimbursement |
4.7% |
4.6% |
11.5% |
| Scholarships |
7.6% |
6.6% |
5.8% |
Source: 2019 Internship & Co-op Survey Report, National Association of Colleges and Employers
Figure 2: Select benefits offered to co-ops: 2017-19
| Benefit |
2019 |
2018 |
2017 |
| Planned social activities |
85.7% |
85.3% |
82.9% |
| Paid holidays |
60.4% |
60.8% |
73.2% |
| Company-matched 401(k) plan |
33.0% |
26.5% |
46.3% |
| Medical insurance |
26.4% |
21.6% |
53.7% |
| Tuition reimbursement |
8.8% |
8.8% |
12.2% |
| Scholarships |
6.6% |
6.9% |
4.9% |
Source: 2019 Internship & Co-op Survey Report, National Association of Colleges and Employers