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Impact of Career Counselling on Career-Related Stress among Final-Year University Students in Nigeria

Abstract

Career-related stress is an important concern among final-year university students in Nigeria as they prepare to transition from higher education into employment, entrepreneurship, further education, or other career pathways. Uncertainty about employment opportunities, competition in the labour market, financial expectations, pressure from family and society, concerns about career choice, and limited knowledge of available career opportunities may contribute to psychological stress during the transition from university to the world of work. Career counselling provides students with structured guidance on career planning, self-assessment, occupational information, decision-making, job-search strategies, employability skills, and transition planning. Such services may help students develop realistic career expectations, improve career decision-making, and reduce uncertainty associated with post-graduation plans. Against this background, this study investigates the impact of career counselling on career-related stress among final-year university students in Nigeria. The study will be anchored on Social Cognitive Career Theory, Holland's Theory of Vocational Personalities and Work Environments, and the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping. Social Cognitive Career Theory emphasizes self-efficacy, outcome expectations, personal goals, and environmental factors in career decision-making and development. Holland's Theory explains career choice through the relationship between individuals' interests, personality characteristics, and occupational environments, providing a framework for understanding career fit and career decision-making. The Transactional Model of Stress and Coping explains how students' appraisal of career uncertainty and perceived coping resources may influence their experience of career-related stress. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how career counselling may influence career-related stress among final-year university students in Nigeria. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental research design. The study population will comprise final-year undergraduate students enrolled in selected public and private universities across Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select states, universities, faculties, departments, and eligible final-year students. Career counselling will be measured using indicators such as exposure to individual counselling sessions, group career counselling, career assessment, occupational information, career planning, career decision-making guidance, employability education, CV and application support, interview preparation, job-search guidance, entrepreneurship guidance, postgraduate education information, labour-market information, and counselling session frequency and duration. Career-related stress will be assessed using indicators such as uncertainty about career choice, concerns about employment after graduation, fear of unemployment, pressure to secure employment, financial concerns related to career decisions, family expectations, uncertainty about postgraduate options, concerns about employability, difficulty making career decisions, and perceived stress associated with transition from university to work. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires, validated career-related stress instruments, career counselling assessment tools, and relevant counselling participation records. Career-related stress will be assessed before and after participation in the career counselling intervention. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize students' demographic, academic, and career characteristics, exposure to counselling services, and levels of career-related stress. Inferential statistical techniques, including paired sample tests, independent sample tests, chi-square tests, correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis where appropriate, will be used to determine the impact of career counselling on career-related stress. Diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability, validity, and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that career counselling has a significant negative impact on career-related stress among final-year university students in Nigeria. Students who participate in structured career counselling programmes are expected to demonstrate reduced uncertainty about career decisions, lower concerns about employment, improved confidence in career planning, and reduced perceived stress associated with the transition from university to the labour market compared with their baseline levels or students without similar counselling exposure. Individual and group counselling, career assessment, occupational information, employability training, job-search guidance, CV preparation, interview preparation, and postgraduate education guidance may help students develop realistic career plans and improve their perceived ability to manage the transition after graduation. However, high unemployment rates, limited employment opportunities, economic uncertainty, financial pressures, family expectations, and inadequate career counselling resources may continue to contribute to career-related stress even among students who receive counselling. The study therefore expects accessible, practical, professionally delivered, and sustained career counselling services to contribute significantly to reducing career-related stress among final-year university students in Nigeria. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on career counselling, career-related stress, final-year university students, career development, employability, student wellbeing, counselling services, career decision-making, transition from university to employment, and public health in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the National Universities Commission, Federal Ministry of Education, universities, career services units, counselling centres, academic advisers, employers, psychologists, career counsellors, student affairs departments, development partners, and policymakers regarding strategies for supporting students during the transition from higher education to employment. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for strengthening university career counselling services, integrating career planning into undergraduate education, improving access to labour-market information, expanding employability and job-search support, strengthening career assessment services, and developing sustainable career and mental wellbeing programmes for final-year students across Nigerian universities.

Keywords: Career counselling, career-related stress, final-year university students, career development, career decision-making, employability, student wellbeing, counselling services, career planning, transition to employment, Nigeria, public health.