India's vast population includes millions of students, many of whom will require career counselling to navigate their future. With diverse career options and intense competition, effective guidance is essential to help students identify their strengths, make informed decisions, and choose the right career path for long-term success and fulfilment.
India is home to around 400 million young people, with nearly 3 million students graduating each year1. This growing demographics highlights a pressing need for effective career guidance.
What is career counselling?
Career counselling is the process of helping students understand their strengths, interests, and abilities, guiding them toward suitable career paths. If done the right way, it can provide valuable insights into various professions.
With India's workforce set to expand rapidly, especially from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities expected to contribute nearly 45% to the GDP by 2025, providing proper career guidance is crucial to sustaining this growth. 2
Here are some common obstacles students face in the pursuit of a suitable career:
1. A lack of direction/clarity can be a major obstacle in finding the right career path. Individuals may struggle to identify their strengths and interests without clear guidance, leading to confusion and missed opportunities.
2. Lack of confidence and feeling inadequate can also be a significant barrier. When individuals question their abilities or feel undeserving of success, they may avoid pursuing opportunities that align with their true potential. Overcoming these challenges is crucial for making confident, informed career choices and achieving long-term success.
3. A skill gap can severely hinder finding the right career path. When individuals lack the necessary skills or qualifications for their desired careers, it limits opportunities and growth potential. Bridging this gap through education, training, and upskilling is essential for unlocking career possibilities.
Around 75% of organisations report a significant skill gap, leading to high unemployment rates among graduates. This disconnect between education and industry needs highlights the critical importance of structured career guidance.3
4. Being overwhelmed by too many career options can make it difficult to choose the right path. This overload of choices often leads to confusion, indecision, or settling for an unsuitable career. Proper guidance and self-assessment are essential to narrowing down options and making informed, confident career decisions.
How career counselling can help:
Research shows that nearly 90% of students may choose the wrong career path due to a lack of proper guidance. Additionally, around 93% of students are aware of only eight or fewer career options despite there being over 800 different career paths available. 3
1. Career counselling boosts students' confidence by helping them understand their strengths, interests, and abilities. With personalised guidance, students gain clarity on their career path, feel more assured in their decisions, and are better prepared for future challenges. This confidence empowers them to pursue their goals with focus and determination. Career counsellors collaborate closely with individuals to grasp their distinct backgrounds, interests, and goals. This tailored approach facilitates the establishment of specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) objectives that resonate with the individual's career aspirations.
2. Career counselling helps students identify necessary skills for their desired career paths and offers guidance on how to develop them. By aligning career goals with skill-building activities like courses, internships, and training, counselling ensures students are better equipped to meet industry demands and succeed in their professional journey.
3. Career counsellors assist students in exploring various career paths by providing personalised assessments that identify their interests and strengths. They offer insights into different professions, industry trends, and educational requirements, helping students make informed choices. This guidance enables individuals to discover options they may not have considered otherwise.
4. A counsellor can assist students in gaining a more profound insight into themselves. Career counselling offers a confidential setting where individuals can freely share their thoughts and feelings without fear of judgment. This secure environment encourages open discussions about hopes and concerns, promoting authentic self-discovery. By engaging in assessments and conversations, students can identify their strengths, values, and sources of motivation. Once they have clarity on their goals, a counsellor can support them in establishing attainable milestones and creating a detailed action plan.
5. The career counsellors now have access to a range of advanced tools that can significantly improve their ability to guide students. Career assessment tools provide multi-dimensional psychometric assessments to help make holistic recommendations. A career library with more than 400+ career options to explore from the current job market, and so many more.
To summarise, online assessments can be valuable for initial self-discovery; however, the extensive support provided by career counsellors—through tailored guidance, emotional encouragement, skill enhancement, and insights into the job market—significantly improves a student's capacity to effectively navigate their career journey.
Disclaimer:
The blog is curated by referring to various credible sources and does not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of QS I-GAUGE. The information provided is for general informational purposes only, readers are advised to conduct their own research and seek professional advice before making any decisions.
References:
https://www.edumilestones.com/blog/details/career-counselling-market-in-India 1
Read more:
https://www.pushfar.com/article/the-importance-of-career-counselling/
https://www.linkedin.com/advice/3/how-can-career-counseling-help-you-overcome
https://jivacareer.org/?page_id=697
https://blog.herzing.ca/importance-of-career-counselling
https://www.edumilestones.com/blog/details/top-15-digital-tools-every-counselor-must-have
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