career guidance: A digital platform that counsels students on career options

It has also gamified content available on its platform to boost interactive multi-dimensional communication.

Since the pandemic, remote learning has become the norm with online classes and assessments changing the way education is delivered. Academicians opine that digital learning has transformed education and is here to stay. Along with edtech, accelerated digital learning has also paved the way for digital career counselling which has seen more acceptance due to ease of access. However, the availability of in-person career counselling has been restricted which affects the decision-making of students who are ill-informed about their options and emerging trends in the workspace.

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ProTeen is trying to make a difference in this regard. Set up in 2015, it is a digital platform that makes students career-ready; basically, it guides high-school and college students to make informed academic and career choices in their formative years. “It is a one-stop career guidance solution for every high school and college student in their academic and career path. ProTeen’s 3D Awareness engine provides a scientific, holistic and experiential approach to making smart career decisions in the 21st century,” says Paridhi Khaitan, MD, ProTeen.

This career guidance platform, which is known for its proprietary student assessments with over 600 career demos and 3000+ experiential tasks, provides virtual career counselling to high school and college graduates in the 13-23 years age group. The platform, which engages with over 60,000 students across 150 academic institutes, encompasses all stakeholders of the education ecosystem—students, parents, schools, colleges, teachers, professors, counsellors and corporations.

ProTeen utilises a three-dimensional awareness approach to guide smart career decisions:
n Awareness of oneself: It comprises intellectual capabilities, interests, personality traits and multiple intelligences
n Awareness of the career landscape: It maps the various industry segments, careers and criteria for success in the 21st century
n Awareness of the right fit: Based on individual skills, characteristics and personalities, ProTeen identifies the right profession for a student from an expansive career landscape.

This integrated analysis helps counsellors in getting a holistic vision of a student’s capabilities by taking into consideration her interests as well as skills. Based on this, counsellors suggest multifold career options to choose from, also making way for non-traditional career options.

“By imparting three-dimensional awareness to students and parents about the former’s aptitude, abilities, and interests, ProTeen breaks free from the traditional psychometric view of intelligence,” says Khaitan. “ProTeen aims to assist and guide students through the process of selecting an academic stream, identify interests and aptitude and enable skill development required for employment in the 21st century.”

Digitally native ProTeen has also ensured an easy-to-use interface for its platform to ensure easy accessibility by a mass audience. It has also gamified content available on its platform to boost interactive multi-dimensional communication.

The internet penetration rate went up to nearly 45% in 2021, from just about 4% in 2007. Affordable WiFi plans, smartphones, and tablets are now accessible even in the remotest areas of the country. Owing to the availability of strong tech infrastructure, geographical location is no longer an obstruction for education and a lot of edtech companies have been able to transfer knowledge and mentorship beyond physical classrooms and make “learning from home” accessible to all.

ProTeen has been able to spread its footprint deeper into the market with its advanced technology integrated with professionally trained career guidance experts. Its basic starter plan provides students with distinctive features like psychometric assessments and career demos. Career demos allow students to experience new-age careers and discover the ones that match their skills and interests—all from the comfort of their homes.

ProTeen also addresses the challenges of students who aren’t equipped with the required digital infrastructure or are located in remote areas. It offers personalised technology along with a network of local career centres with trained career experts to facilitate smart career decisions from anywhere and anytime.

In a short period, ProTeen has built a network of over 60,000 students across 150 institutes. It also has two career centres one in Surat, Gujarat, and another in Indapur, Maharashtra. It plans to open 500 career centres by 2022 to increase its physical presence across the country by 2022. “As competition intensifies to enter the best careers, ProTeen is the go-to choice for millions of Indian students….a scientifically-backed platform that strengthens academic and career readiness and one that students can use anywhere, anytime,” says Sunil K Dalal, chairman, ProTeen.