Providing Career Guidance for Rural Girls - Challenges & Thoughts

Recently I was invited to provide Career Guidance Sessions to 500 girls studying in Grades IX-XII in government schools in two rural blocks of Ajmer district by an NGO 'Mahila Jan Adhikar Samiti' (MJAS) led by Ms. Indira Pancholi. The NGO has been working closely with these girls through their group of dedicated volunteers and activists. They have been running  Football Clubs for girls, a computer literacy program with a unique feminist approach, and programs on rural journalism for young girls. They are also running campaigns against child marriages and practices like witch-hunting (Both daily prevalent in this area!), and have undertaken many other laudable initiatives. 

I learned that the reason they wished to work on livelihood and careers stemmed from the work that they have been doing for several years. "The girls are now studying and going to schools but they are not sure what they can do to earn a livelihood. Social and financial circumstances do not allow them access to big cities or to coaching institutes. Most village schools do not offer subjects other than Humanities in senior grades, which limits their options." 

They shared with me the handbooks and modules they have already made on career planning. The modules were beautifully crafted around the theme of 'mera sapna' (My Dream). Several exercises had been built to help the girls articulate their 'dreams' or goals. I was fascinated as I read the girls' responses - teachers, doctors, engineers, IAS officers. Almost everything that I hear often in the classrooms at elite schools was repeated here. (Barring one exception, in my experience a Teacher is almost never mentioned as a career aspiration in elite schools but that's probably a subject for another article!)

I have some experience working with economically and socially disadvantaged communities in my early career as a trained social worker but I have never provided a formal 'Career Guidance' program in such a context. I felt uncertain and ill-equipped. With the help of resources generously shared by friends, I prepared and conducted my first virtual session with 35 young girls in a rural government school. Seated on the floor in a small classroom in their village, the girls in ribbon-tied pigtails and blue government-issued uniforms listened sincerely as I spoke to them about career 'options'. To enliven the information-heavy session we also asked the girls to share their 'dreams'. A few of them shyly stood up to say 'Teacher', 'Doctor', 'IAS Officers'.

The two-hour session went well and the girls and their teachers gave positive reviews. But I logged off with a nagging sense of somehow 'missing the point'. The schools went into examination mode and were not available the next Saturday for a class. Not wanting to lose steam (Or a week!) we decided to use the next weekly session to train volunteers who work with the girls on a daily basis to familiarize them with 'Career Guidance' so that they are able to offer better advice and support on the ground. 

The day designated for the 'Volunteer Training Session' turned out to be an exceptionally crowded one for me. The plan was to go through the same presentation that was shown to the girls the previous week but provide more nuanced information. Nothing that needed preparation! Yet through the day, I found my mind wandering to what I wanted to say in the evening. As I left my workplace that day, in the quiet of my car on my way back home, I was finally able to articulate what was nagging me. 

When we base our Career Conversations on 'Dreams', we do a disservice to the young adults we are hoping to guide. 'Dreams' That are not in sync with reality, opportunities, and resources are likely to create 'frustration'. A young girl who 'dreams ' of becoming a doctor but does not have a choice of studying Biology in Grade XII. is likely to be disappointed or even frustrated when her education does not lead her to her 'dream’ career. What does she do with her 'incomplete education' if her family is unable to send her to college after Grade XII? Or worse if she finds that she has to discontinue school after Xth?

I am in complete sympathy with the activists and the idealists who believe that we must allow each child to 'dream' without restraint and agree that there is a case for allowing children to pursue their true passion and choices. But, are the aspirations expressed by children really their 'choices'. As a society, we lay great value on certain professions and look down upon most others. Do we provide children with a chance to know about and explore other options? What information do we provide to them about the cost of reaching certain career goals? Should we not provide young adults, with tools whereby they can analyze the cost and benefits of the wide range of occupations that actually exist?

These questions are valid for all young adults, but especially valid for young adults who live in socially and economically challenged circumstances. They need to start earning and being self-reliant at the earliest. They must also be more flexible with their career plans as their education can come to a stop at any time due to circumstances not under their control. 

The story after story I had heard from volunteers about the harsh realities of these girls’ lives pointed me toward the idea that instead of asking children "What they dreamt of being?" We must ask them to carefully analyze their Strengths and Weaknesses and take stock of the Opportunities and Threats in their environment to take a calculated and informed decision about the most feasible career path for them. 

To my mind, this is also a possible solution to the problem of 'Educated Unemployment' that our youth face currently. The other issue that we could address by adopting this approach is the problem of not having enough carpenters, plumbers, electricians, welders, etc. Most city folk will agree that there is a shortage of skilled workers in traditional trades that modern education has somehow made "less aspirational'. Many of these jobs allow the practitioner to be self-employed and fetch decent pay and yet do not require many years of formal education that is expensive and sometimes even impossible to acquire.

Here is what I ended up sharing with the volunteers that evening: 

1. Instead of starting career and livelihood conversations with talks about ' dreams' let us weave them around an objective analysis of their ground reality.
2. We must impress upon every child we speak with that there are several career and livelihood options available to them. No matter how much education and what kind they have been able to receive with some thought and initiative there will be scope for generating a livelihood through it.
3. We must ask them to think of education and skill-building as a lifelong process. They can start with a job as per their present circumstance and thereafter grab every opportunity they get to build upon their skills in the direction they wish. 
4. We must endeavor to provide children with challenging socio-economic backgrounds role models and success stories that are close to them contextually. Documenting regular life stories of 'average' people around them who live in rural areas and have overcome challenges similar to the ones they face. Providing children themselves an opportunity to 'interview' such people and make short videos or written case studies could be a way of providing feasible 'options' as well as enhancing social skills and building confidence. 
5. Providing young adults in challenging circumstances education on entrepreneurship and self-employment will also be a very fruitful exercise. Building platforms where they can collaborate on joint ventures and creating a support network of mentors to guide them and help them navigate the difficult process of raising resources, finding the market, and sustaining a new venture will be paramount.

The planned one-hour session with the volunteers extended to almost two hours. Many of them were in agreement with the ideas put forth. Most of the girls they work with do not have the means to pay for coaching institutes, or even buy guides and books to prepare for entrance exams to most professional programs. There are many girls who are qualified to be 'teachers' but have been 'sitting idle' as recruitments have been delayed due to lawsuits. From earlier research that I had at Teacher Training Institutes in the same area, I know that getting a teaching job and thereafter getting a 'desirable' posting comes at a huge 'cost'. Almost none of them knew of a girl from a disadvantaged home in their areas who had become a 'doctor'. Even Nursing institutes were expensive and difficult to get in. But there were success stories of women who had become NREGA supervisors, Agricultural Officers, or even Bus drivers! 

I am new at this and have much to learn. However, I am sure of this that the answer to the problem of lack of options for making a comfortable livelihood in socially and financially disadvantaged communities and areas will come from being flexible and creative with our ideas. The answer will lie in finding 'easily attainable' mini-goals that can help 'build' these young adults and prop them up so that they can continue to 'learn' and 'grow' as they go along.