Higher Education ⇄ 12twenty ⇄ Employers
Colleges and universities prepare students for the workforce and manage career services, employer relationships, and graduate outcomes.
12twenty operates between these groups, providing technology that supports institutional career management and recruitment for organizations.
Organizations recruit students and recent graduates through internships, campus recruiting, and early-career hiring programs.
Universities are under increasing pressure to measure, manage, and communicate graduate employment outcomes, recruiting activity, and student success. This is driving demand for platforms that support career services operations, employer engagement, and outcomes reporting (Research and Markets, 2025).
Recent employment trends, including changes in graduate placement rates, have increased the importance of accurate outcomes tracking and data-informed career services. Universities require reliable data not only to report results, but also to identify challenges, improve student support, and demonstrate value to prospective students (12twenty, n.d.).
Career services teams are increasingly adopting technology solutions that support career advising, employer partnerships, job opportunities, and data-informed decision-making. As institutions seek to improve career outcomes at scale, integrated career services platforms are becoming increasingly important (Prentus, 2026).
Employers continue to rely on universities as a key source of early-career talent, while institutions seek stronger systems to manage employer relationships and recruiting activity. Technology platforms that connect employers with students and universities can reduce fragmentation within the early talent ecosystem (NACE, 2025; Gardner, 2021).
Government and institutional investment in work-integrated learning is increasing demand for systems that connect students, employers, and institutions. In Canada, more than $1.5 billion is being directed toward youth employment initiatives, including funding for approximately 55,000 additional work-integrated learning opportunities through the Student Work Placement Program (Employment and Social Development Canada, 2025).
Together, these trends create an opportunity for platforms that reduce fragmentation across the early talent ecosystem. Universities need tools to manage career operations and outcomes reporting, while employers seek efficient access to qualified early-career talent. The NACE 2025 Recruiting Benchmark Report (2025) found that 79% of organizations require a bachelor’s degree for entry-level roles, and more than 90% continue to use direct on-campus recruiting.
My experience managing a graduate-level internship program preparing students to work in the pharmaceutical industry reinforces the market need for stronger university-employer connections. Employers viewed the program as a valuable early talent pipeline, while coordinating relationships, job postings, applications, interviews, and communication across stakeholders required significant administrative effort.
References
12twenty.(n.d.). Salary Trends by Industry: What Career Teams Should Know in 2025. https://12twenty.com/blog/mba-salaries-placement-rates-2025
Employment and Social Development Canada. (2025, November). Minister Hajdu highlights Budget 2025 investments to support youth employment. Government of Canada. https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/news/2025/11/minister-hajdu-highlights-budget-2025-investments-to-support-youth-employment.html
Gardner, P. (2021). Recruiting trends: 2021–2022 (51st ed.). Collegiate Employment Research Institute, Michigan State University. https://ceri.msu.edu/_assets/pdfs/Recruiting%20Trends%202021-22/Recruiting-Trends-Report-2021-22.pdf
National Association of Colleges and Employers. (n.d.). About us. https://www.naceweb.org/about-us
National Association of Colleges and Employers. (2025). NACE 2025 recruiting benchmarks report executive summary. https://www.naceweb.org/docs/default-source/default-document-library/2025/publication/executive-summary/nace-2025-recruiting-benchmarks-report-executive-summary.pdf
Prentus. (2026, June 16). Best career outcomes software for colleges and universities. https://prentus.com/blog/best-career-outcomes-software-for-colleges-and-universities
Research and Markets. (2025, August). Campus Recruiting Software Global Market Insights 2025, Analysis and Forecast to 2030, by Market Participants, Regions, Technology, Application, Product Type. https://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/6164775/campus-recruiting-software-global-market
Gardner, Phil. (2021). Recruiting trends: 2021-2022. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED617401.pdf