Expert Speak - Careers Available for Career Counsellors - Saurabh Nanda

Career decision-making is one of the biggest problems faced by students and young professionals in India and across the world. Some data points showcase the severity of the problem at hand. According to India Skills Report 2018, around 85% of young people in the country at higher education levels feel ill-equipped to make informed decisions regarding their future career paths. Further, a survey conducted by Mindler found that 93% of the young people surveyed were aware of only seven career options, even though there are over 250+ possible career choices available in India today. 

According to the new Annual Employability Survey 2019 report by Aspiring Minds, 80% of Indian engineers are not fit for any job in the knowledge economy and only 2.5% of them possess tech skills in Artificial Intelligence (AI) that the industry requires. This impacts India’s knowledge economy directly as most employers have to invest in re-skilling and up-skilling new hires thereby making the new hires’ higher education redundant. This increases the cost of educating our youth to make them employable, thereby affecting our economy directly. 

Recent trends of reduction in hiring for IT jobs and management positions in India further exacerbate the problem as these well-trodden paths to career success seem to be losing their shine due to increased automation in the services sector. 

Career Decision Making is not a simplistic process anymore and consists of a combination of multiple 21st Century Skills as defined by multiple global researchers. 

Also Read: Career Decision Making is ‘the’ 21st Century Skill.

Young college pass-outs need to be provided the right guidance after detailed assessment so the right kind of skills can be imparted to them. We have observed in our research results that if we identify the aptitudes of children in 9th and 10th grade, we can mentor them towards different career options and reduce herd mentality which ultimately leads to the unemployability of the youth after college. 

The Government of India has allocated Rs 1.48 lakh crore for education, employment, and skills in FY 2024-25, focusing on foundational education, higher education, and job creation. Consequently, there is a directive to recruit 7000+ career counsellors across all states in India.

According to the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020), clause 12.4, professional academic and career counselling must be available to all students, along with counsellors to ensure their physical, psychological, and emotional well-being. Clause 6.19 of NEP 2020 further provides that all participants in the school education system, including teachers, principals, administrators, counsellors, and students, must be sensitised to the needs of all students, promoting inclusion, equity, respect, dignity, and privacy. By clause 2.4.12 (Counsellor & Wellness Teacher) of the CBSE Affiliation ByeLaws, schools seeking affiliation must meet the following requirement:  “Every Secondary and Senior Secondary school shall appoint a person on a full-time basis for performing the duties of Counsellor & Wellness Teacher. The person appointed as Counsellor and wellness teacher shall be either a Graduate/Post Graduate in psychology or Post Graduate in Child Development or Graduate/Post Graduate with Diploma in Career Guidance and Counselling. 

Schools having an enrolment of fewer than 300 students in classes from IX to XII can appoint a Counsellor & Wellness Teacher on a part-time basis.” By NEP 2020, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) have been engaging in multiple training activities towards generating awareness and sensitisation for career counselling in schools. Traditionally, these bodies have always defined counselling at schools for wellness and behavioural guidance primarily and are now increasing its scope to include career counselling and life skills. The challenge over here is how to define career counselling, how to standardise the process and then assist the client/student towards their goals through a mentorship process. 

What we have observed over our many years of practice is that career counselling needs to be done using appropriate psychometric tools and the counselling interventions need to be designed according to the client's needs. Another thing that we realised was that just counselling interventions were not enough, the clients also needed support during the journey towards reaching the different milestones en route. 

Today’s career journeys are much more complex involving not just academics, standardised testing, extra-curricular and co-curricular achievements, community service but many other activities in the expanded definitions of all the things just mentioned. This demands a framework around career mentorship which can allow for maximum success for a client/student given their unique requirements and circumstances. 

After hundreds of counselling sessions and workshops across hundreds of schools and universities in numerous cities across the world impacting thousands of students, parents and young professionals over the last 12 years, I have been able to verify a Career Decision Making model which shows what decisions are based on and how decisions are taken, called ‘The Spheres of Understanding: The SN Career Decision Making Model’. Based on this model, I have been able to copyright 3 models. I have had the opportunity to learn directly from Dr Itishree Misra, the psychometrician who pioneered the A-P-I model in India. I observed her in various counselling settings with students, parents and teachers. I learnt the art and science of counselling from her and understood the psychometric nuances through her teachings. This was in 2012. But how does one become a career counsellor today? 

There are a few certifications available in the market today being provided by private organisations, startups, study abroad student recruitment companies and in some cases private universities as well. But please be discerning when you make a choice. A good certification should provide you with the following: 

• 1. Technical Knowledge about the Science of Careers and Counselling. This can include psychology, psychometrics, interpretation of psychometric assessments, career decision-making, counselling nuances, career mapping, youth mentorship, and mental health nuances among other things. 
• 2. Client Servicing Knowledge which can include best practices from different counselling practices, client management, technological enablement, using AI, educational and career pathways, timelines, strategies and professional delivery of services. 
• 3. Business Development Knowledge including how to set up shop, build collaborations, provide multiple services under your brand including B2C, B2B and B2G (business to government) services and create unique opportunities for your practice. 

Any skilling program is only worth it if there is a support ecosystem present to help the learner navigate the uncertainties that she will face. So a good certification program shall support you in solving complex client challenges in the future, also guide you with technological tools and most importantly provide a community to bank upon which acts as a hive mind for you and enables your continuous learning. I benefited from being able to clear my doubts from the best career guide in the country. If there are experienced career counsellors in the certification programs, then please make sure you get your questions answered! Today’s youth’s challenges are multi-faceted and not just related to careers, so it would benefit to understand what kind of counsellor are you and which skills you need to focus on developing. In my experience, there are 4 types of counsellors: 

1. Guidance Counsellors 
2. Career Counsellors 
3. Education Counsellors 
4. Sales Counsellors India has a lot of education and sales counsellors but very few career and guidance counsellors. 

So you should develop those other skills. I want to wish you all the best on your career mentorship journey. Together we can make India Career Mentorship Ready by 2030. 

You can explore our career mentors’ certification here - Click Here . 

About the Expert

Saurabh Nanda is a rеnownеd carееr consultant and mеntor in India,  guiding 20,000+ students and young professionals globally.  Hе has rеcеivеd accolades for mеntal health initiativеs and is a TEDx spеakеr.  His expertise covers diverse topics,  from research projects to communication skills.  He holds degrees in computеr еnginееring and clinical psychology.  His decade еxpеriеncе in education spans India,  Dеnmark,  and Japan,  bеnеfiting thousands of livеs.  He advocatеs for sustainability,  mеntal health,  and еducation policy on his podcasts and as a Global Ambassador.