CareerShala

Youth from underserved communities are pushed to make poor career choices based on their academic achievement and context, not allowing them to thrive and realize their potential. Moreover, they find it difficult to reinvest in their learning and change their career tracks later due to financial constraints. 

This happens due to:

• Lack of exposure and visibility of diverse career pathways aligned to students’ 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 12. Less than 10% of students from govt schools reach good colleges.
• Lack of role models to inspire students to take action towards career development. They are aware of only 5-7 typical career pathways limited to Doctor/ Army/ Police/ Teacher/ Govt jobs etc.

Alohomora designed and executes CareerShala, a career discovery and planning tool for young people to choose career pathways that align with their contexts, aspirations and strengths. Through facilitated exploration and reflection, students explore diverse sectors and action projects and identify the right career pathway for themselves. 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.

Akash was passionate about sports but was dejected about her 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. Like Asha and Aakash, we have been working with 2500 students to help them identify and choose career pathways that allow them to thrive and feel excited about their work. With our strategic partnerships with UNICEF Yuwaah and Govt of Delhi, we want to enable 1 million students to be on career pathways of their choice, by 2025.