Empowering Aspirations - The Gujarat Career Guidance CSR Project

Understanding students' varied socio-economic realities has always been important to us . This led us to explore untapped regions like Halol, where our research showed Sun Pharma’s presence near multiple government schools. Discussions began in July 2025, with the project confirmed in October 2025.

After identifying the need for career guidance through Sun Pharma’s CSR team around the Halol plant, they confirmed 14 government schools in that specific area for a pilot programme. 

Working closely with the Sun Pharma team, we gained access to school administration and successfully scheduled sessions in the schools.

Here’s what all you need to know before the beginning of the first phase of this pilot project.

The career guidance programme was delivered through a collaborative CSR model, with clearly defined roles across funding, implementation, and on-ground execution. Each stakeholder contributed uniquely to ensure smooth coordination, effective delivery, and meaningful outcomes for students across all participating schools.

Educart followed an interactive counselling approach which was meant to cater every aspect related to the learner and their bright future. 

• Group orientation sessions 
• Psychometric assessment in offline mode 
• Exposure to non-traditional and emerging careers through career guidance session with the learners 
• Identification of barriers through one-to-one counselling 

Understanding School Requirements 

To begin with phase 1, it was crucial for us to understand what the teachers require for their students. After having an in-depth understanding, these were the major requirements that came out. 

• Help students understand available career options and align them with their interests, abilities, and academic pathways.
• Introduce varied career options to students, both traditional and non-traditional 
• Provide an overall counselling to students to so that they can make informed decisions 
• Build confidence and motivation amongst the students

Most students hail from rural, economically disadvantaged backgrounds with little exposure to structured career guidance. For many, this was their first interaction with career planning or psychometric assessment. Several students, especially from Class X, felt pressure to start earning early due to family responsibilities, while career awareness remained limited to a few familiar options.

Language emerged as a confidence barrier for students from Gujarati-medium schools, particularly for higher education pathways. Notably, girl students showed strong interest in non-traditional careers, requiring guidance to navigate social expectations and convert ambition into realistic pathways.

For the success of the career guidance programme, it was important to ensure that everything that takes place should be in structured format.

The most important part of the complete career guidance programme was to ensure attendance of the students as the objective was to help them understand the value of the guidance programme, ensuring their meaningful participation rather than mere attendance.

Attractive yet guided colourful posters were put across schools to capture students attention, supported by whatsapp messages from teachers and prominent banners highlighting the programme offerings. 

Phase one kickstarted with an orientation session where Hiral Shah, our lead career counsellor. To make it more engaging, the medium of delivery was mostly Gujarati. Following the introduction, a power-packed orientation session was conducted to walk students through the structure and objectives of the career guidance programme.

The first interaction is the most important part of any session as it connects you to the people and here, the connection was clearly established and learners were all set to see what comes up next. 

2.1 Potential Assessment Test 

The students being from the under privileged sections of the society lacked awareness about their interests and inclination. Educart introduced a psychometric test to help learners gain insights into their strengths and potential, enabling them to make informed career decisions. 

We used the Holland career test- tool to build our psychometric test, wherein students' interest and inclinations were measured on RAISEC aspects- Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional.

Interesting Fact: Among all the participating students, girls showed greater receptiveness and engagement during the sessions. They were more keen to understand the benefits of the career guidance programme in their future choices. It was also inspiring to witness learners from backward areas have unique career aspirations such as becoming an air-hostess, a youtuber and a fire-fighter. 

Phase two began with some challenges amongst which the major challenge was relatively lower turnout of the students because of the board exams proximity. Despite this, we managed the phase effectively. Let us see how.

3.1 Interests and Aspirations Explored 

The phase began with a powerful 45 minute session conducted by our lead counselor Hiral Shah, where she discussed the common pointers of the reports with everyone followed by an impactful career guidance session with students. 

Both these, combined help students gain clarity about their interest leaving them with a relaxed mind. 

3.2 Personalised Career Guidance 

After the career guidance session, students were left confident but also excited to know more about their interests and what career aspirations can align with that. We were prepared for this excitement.

The team of counselors comprising six members started with one-to-one counseling sessions that included individual report reading, where students were guided as per the reports of their psychometric test. Their interests, inclinations, strengths, and weak areas were discussed and then were given ideas of related career options which they can pursue.

The sessions strengthened students’ confidence and gave them clarity about their career paths, helping them recognise their strengths and set realistic future goals. They were much more aware about their future and had a sense of relief on their face towards the end of the career guidance session.

Impact Created: 

• Enhanced self-awareness among students
• Improved clarity on career pathways and qualifications
• Renewed confidence and motivation
• Greater teacher and school leadership acknowledgment of the importance of career guidance
• Foundation of long-term career planning 

Emotional Impact Created: 

• Students felt heard and valued, becoming active participants in their career decisions
• Career discussions became simple and non-intimidating for learners
• Aspirations were acknowledged before being guided realistically
• Students learned how to think about careers, not just choose one
• Reduced anxiety and greater emotional clarity around future choices
• Higher confidence among girl students, especially for non-traditional careers
• Stronger trust in education and guidance systems within schools

Towards the end of the career guidance programme, students were reinforced with participation certificates. 

These certificates were provided to celebrate their participation and appreciate them for willingly taking the first step towards self discovery, learning, personal growth and their career decision. 

The teachers were present throughout the process of the career guidance programme and witnessing the structured way in which every step was being conducted left them reassured and confident in the process. They were content witnessing that every learner was given individual attention with every concern of them being addressed.

They expressed reassurance in seeing students gain a realistic understanding of career options, with long-standing confusions being addressed and clarified. The programme strengthened teachers’ trust in students’ ability to make informed decisions and concern for their careers. 

A heartfelt thank you to the Sun Pharma team, especially Mr. Pratik Pandya, Sunpharma’s local SPOC who played the major role in identifying the focus geographies (Halol) and connecting us with the right government schools.

Their support laid the foundation for the successful execution of this career guidance initiative. Without their commitment towards education and society, this programme would have never reached the way it did to the learners who actually need it the most. 

A special thanks to the school principals and administration as their support throughout the programme helped us conduct this initiative smoothly. Their encouragement for student participation and creating an enabling environment for meaningful engagement worked in our favour. 

Finally, a special note of thanks to the counsellors who dedicated their expertise and made real contributions in the life of so many learners with their guidance. From conducting psychometric assessments to providing personalised career guidance, their patient, empathetic, and student-centric approach helped learners gain clarity, confidence, and direction for their future. 

Together, these collective efforts ensured that students walked away inspired, informed, and better prepared to take the next steps in their career journey.