Alohomora - Thriving Careers For All

Lack of exposure and low visibility of diverse careers means most students in India (especially those from underserved communities) are aware of only 5-7 conventional careers such as doctor, engineer, IAS - most of which are inaccessible or involve more financial support than families are capable of providing.

Career counselling support is available only to a privileged few. Poor choices in critical school years result in young people ending up in jobs that they don't like. It is difficult to reinvest in their learning and change their career tracks later due to financial constraints. Students’ dissatisfaction with their enrolled courses or jobs leads to confusion and a feeling of inadequacy, leading to massive loss of potential.

The problem, therefore, is three-fold:

• Low exposure and awareness: Students are not aware of careers that align with their aspirations and interests. As per our study, 9 out of 10 students don’t have a career goal while in school.
• Lack of access to relevant and aspirational learning opportunities post grade12: Less than 10% of students from govt schools reach good colleges.
• Lack of role models and career experts: To inspire students to take action towards career development, and to give them the correct information needed to make an informed and intentional career choice

These factors contribute towards making a non-supportive ecosystem. It is increasingly difficult for children to find careers that allow them to grow, learn, and thrive.

Privilege should not be a prerequisite for aspiration and imagination.

We seek to create an ecosystem that supports young people to reach thriving careers matching their strengths and interests. With this vision, Alohomora has designed and executes CareerShala, a portal for career discovery and planning that democratises the complex career decision making process. It is a unique tech-based career exploration intervention, designed around 5 steps a young adult needs to take to make an informed career choice. Based on ideas of inspiration, exploration and reflection, CareerShala introduces students to wide-ranging career options, encourages them to do home-based microprojects to practically experience these careers, and helps them identify the right choice for themselves based on their own assessment of their skills and interests. It connects them with experts, mentors, and professionals across 12 industries, allowing access to the right content and support to choose their career with care and intention. CareerShala combines a standard learning management system (LMS) with a facilitator driven model, which creates a playbook for any facilitator to use these 5 steps with any group of young adults.

We also work on two innovative large-scale interventions with the Government of Delhi - Entrepreneurship Mindset Curriculum and Desh Ke Mentor, which have together impacted close to 3L students.

We also connect students to the right set of learning opportunities post 12th - be it college applications or identifying and enrolling in the right vocational course in their interest area. We also provide financial assistance to students to pursue a career of choice.

By 2025, we want to empower every child in India to be on career pathways of their choice.

We want to create an ecosystem that encourages exploration and reflection, and gives children the tools they need to make the right choices for themselves. When their chosen careers align with their strengths and interests, students thrive in dimensions of life beyond the financial, and we want to see an increase in self-belief and confidence levels, leading to overall growth and fulfilment. 

In more tangible terms, we want to see more examples like Akash and Asha. Akash was passionate about sports but was dejected about his future due to his low academic performance. He identified the fitness sector to build a career, and after some short term courses and on the job training, he is already a certified fitness instructor earning well in his area of interest. Asha convinced her family to let her travel long distances every day to join a multi-cuisine chef course and currently working with a leading restaurant as an assistant chef. We want to create a space where ALL students like Akash and Asha can identify their strengths and interests, and get the support to build a roadmap and execute their aspirations.