VMPL
New Delhi [India], January 9: Choosing the right career is a crucial factor in happiness and life satisfaction. While students have more choices than ever before they are unsure what to do and how to decide on what is best for them. To cut through the confusion, the Cambridge Schools launched a structured career guidance program in 2023. The programme includes both broad-based talks for all students in a batch as well as individual sessions.
The programme is based on a partnership with experienced agencies. "Structured and systematic career counselling helps students find an alignment between their interests, abilities, personality traits, and aspirations", said Variddhi Gupta Head of Counselling Services at all the Cambridge Schools.
Specialists talk to students on topics like how one should choose a college; profile building; and competitive exams like the NEET, JEE, CLAT, CUET.
There is year-round interaction, with each school receiving a counsellor twice a week. An expert career counsellor meets students one-on-one, understanding their needs, clarifying doubts, and helping each student carve a career pathway that is best suited to them. Parents can accompany their children to these sessions.
How career counselling helps
In choosing a career and courses which will help them to take the first concrete steps towards them counselling helps students to understand aspects of themselves that they might not have thought about.
Further, talking to career counsellors helps students become more aware about the large number of higher education institutions and what they offer, and how various subjects are aligned with different career trajectories. It also helps them get rid of any misconceptions they might be carrying.
Arya Singh, a student of Class 11 at Cambridge School, Noida, quoted, "The career counsellors help us with detailed information on our areas of interest. I was interested in pursuing Biology right from Class 9. Along with explaining to me the career options corresponding with Biology, the counsellor also gave me insights into how Biology can be integrated with other disciplines like technology to solve real-world problems."
One-to-one counselling sessions
"The Cambridge Schools' initiative to set up an in-house career counseling cell is both commendable and essential. This proactive approach will not only empower students to unlock their full potential, but also contribute to societal progress by preparing a generation of well-educated and skilled individuals who make thoughtful career choices," said Ojsvi Sharma, career counsellor with IDream Career, a partner organisation of the Cambridge Schools.
Interaction with universities
One of the notable features of the program is the annual college and career fair, MentorEd, which brings representatives from various universities to the school campuses. The fair presents students a chance to gain first hand insights into the institutions' offerings.
Each of the college and career fairs sees the presence of around 25-35 premier universities. "Moreover, students are also taken to visit some of the good universities in and around the city. For instance, our students from Class 12 took a campus tour of Ashoka University this year. Similar events are being planned for the upcoming academic year as well", Gupta added.
Volunteering opportunities
Another prominent mark of the career guidance program at the Cambridge Schools is the volunteering opportunities they present to their senior students during the summer vacation. These are meant to help students get hands-on exposure and discover their likes and dislikes for the journey ahead. "Around 50 of our students from senior school volunteered with various NGOs and interned with private organisations during summer this year. The activities they undertook included creative writing, photography, interacting with people from diverse socio-economic backgrounds, organising donation drives, understanding accounting for businesses, and so on", informed Gupta.
Breaking barriers, creating impact
This initiative by Cambridge Schools is bringing about a significant transformation in students as well as parents.
A large number of people still prioritise only a handful, conventional career paths such as engineering and medicine, until they interact with counsellors. Career counseling helps break long-standing barriers and outdated norms. It introduces both students and parents to a broader spectrum of opportunities, many of which they were previously unaware about", Sharma said.
While parents think only in the best interests of their children, speaking to a career counsellor sometimes helps them shed their inhibitions about certain careers and they are better able to support their children in what they want to do.
Steering towards what's ahead
Cambridge Schools' career guidance program has received much appreciation from students and their parents since it started. "We are often told by parents how career counsellors help their children evaluate their options more objectively and make well-thought decisions about which courses they want to pursue after Class 12," said Jyoti Joshi, Officiating Principal, Cambridge School, Noida.
As the program moves forward, it is evident that the initiative is not just about career counseling--it's about creating a future-ready generation, which bases their decisions on self-awareness, information and reason.
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