Youth Leadership & Career Readiness
Career counselling, scholarship linkages, and leadership training for first-generation school leavers.
About This Project
A career-readiness programme targeting youth aged 16–22 who are the first in their families to complete secondary education — a group largely invisible to mainstream career support systems. BITAN partnered with iVolunteer to bring professional career counsellors and industry mentors into community settings accessible to first-generation learners.
The programme began with a psychometric aptitude assessment administered to all participants, followed by one-to-one career counselling sessions tailored to each individual's strengths, interests, and economic constraints. For youth not able to pursue higher education, BITAN provided direct linkages to NSDC-affiliated skill training centres with scholarship support.
Industry exposure visits — to offices, factories, and service sector workplaces — were a particularly valued component, giving youth their first professional environment experience. Over 600 youth were supported into higher education or formal employment over three years.
What We Did
- Psychometric aptitude assessment — all participants assessed and profiled by trained counsellors
- Individual career counselling sessions — minimum 2 sessions per youth, with follow-up at 6 months
- Industry exposure visits — 14 visits to offices, factories, and service centres
- Scholarship facilitation — applications supported for 220 youth across 18 government and private scholarships
- Skill training referrals — 180 youth enrolled in NSDC-affiliated training programmes with scholarship support
- Mock interview and CV-writing workshops — 8 batches, 50 youth per batch
- Alumni network — WhatsApp community connecting graduates with mentors for ongoing support
From the Field
Challenges & How We Addressed Them
Many youth faced family pressure to enter daily labour immediately rather than 'waste time' in career counselling. BITAN addressed this by holding a parallel parent orientation that demonstrated the earnings differential between unskilled daily labour and formal sector employment over a 5-year horizon — making the economic case for investing 3–6 months in career readiness.
“I had no idea what I wanted to do after Class 12. My parents are daily labourers — no one in my family had ever been to a corporate office. The exposure visit to an IT company changed my vision completely. I am now working as a data entry operator and studying in the evening.”
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