Support the future of 5000 kids

What do you want to be when you grow up?

A very common and seemingly simple question, right? Or is it?

15-year-old Iram is grappling with this very question. 

Iram studies in Class 9, at a school in Sangam Vihar, a densely populated and undeveloped locality of South Delhi, India. She walks 3 kilometres to school every day, rain or shine, but she doesn't mind. “I love school,” she says. 

Iram has a dream. She wants to grow up and work. But when anyone asks her what she wants to become, she remains silent.

Iram's story is not unique. In fact, it is the story of thousands of students studying in government schools across India, and beyond. They struggle with questions about their futures:

What stream should they select? 

What are their skills, interests and aptitudes? 

What profession do they want to take up? 

What career options do they have? 

What steps do they have to take to reach their career goal?  

By 2020, India is set to become the world’s youngest country with 64% of its population in the working-age group of 15-34. At the same time, every year 47 million children leave the formal education system. Less than 5% of students have received any formal career coaching.

Children who drop out lack the basic understanding of the employment landscape and the skills required to enter the formal economy and thereby end up joining the informal/ unorganised workforce, to support their livelihood, often unskilled and without adequate social security. The cycle of poverty in the families of these children continues. 

It is, therefore, the need of the hour, to support these children and enable them to make informed decisions. 

Our program places emphasis on student-centred learning, empowering them to build actionable plans. The idea is to provide space for each child’s individual expression, where they craft their own individual career pathways. In 2018, through partnerships with organisations like Teach for India, we went from a 500 student pilot of our career planning program to a full-fledged program with 2500 students in government schools. 

Some of the results of our program were-

• 64% of students were able to identify their career goal while close to 50% of the students could make a plan B as a result of our program. 
• 42% increase in the number of students who were able to identify their skills and interests and link these to career pathways. 
• 69% of students were able to identify the socio-economic challenges that they might face and try and find solutions for the same. 

In 2019, the aim is to work with 10,000 students through partnerships with Teach for India, Delhi, Teach for India, Chennai and Shohratgarh Environmental Society and others.

About Arthan:

Arthan Foundation envisions a world where every child has access to the knowledge, resources and economic opportunities necessary to achieve her/his ambitions. Arthan believes that empowering children and youth is critical to alleviating poverty in India. We envision a world where children have access to the knowledge, resources and economic opportunities necessary to build their lives. 

Arthan brings together education, employability skills, and economic development to create lasting social and economic change. We design and implement programs on career planning for school children, and sector-specific job readiness for youth and connect them to economic opportunities through employment and rural entrepreneurship. We partner with government, business, and civil society to inspire systemic collective action to address the youth unemployment challenge.

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