Need for Tele Helpline Service
As most of the rural population in India are first generation learners and due to lack of internet penetration, there is very minimal/no guidance on how to continue their education and what career opportunities are available for them to pursue. There are many students who are losing several opportunities both in private and government sector as they lack access to information on demand.
Results of the survey conducted by Vidya helpline reveal that apart from lacking crucial career guidance from experts, each student from remote areas on an average travels a distance of 12.5km, spends 95mins and Rs 46 and sometimes are exploited by third party vendor to gain access to the information.
With a tele-density of more than 79.98% (TRAI, Press release No. 47/2015)in India, a toll free tele service by Vidya Helpline reaches out to remote areas of the society not only saving considerable time and money but also provides authentic information and up to date information from experts.
Need for Career Counselling Workshop
To understand the career needs of the underprivileged students, a need assessment survey has been conducted; the results of which were as follows:
- 67% of the students had no goals set.
- 72% of the students were exposed to just 4 career opportunities: Doctor, teacher, lawyer, and police.
- Only 10% of the students had guidance that could lead them to their dream goals.
Based on these results of the study, the career workshop model has been designed to address the 3 major challenges observed in career decisions of students:
- Lack of monetary and family support to pursue the dream career
- Pursuing careers that the individual is not passionate about
- Lack of information and guidance to pursue the dream career
There are many students, who are unable to utilize the opportunities in government and private sector. There are several opportunities for higher education and employment for people from various skills but there is a huge exposure divide.