Career Development Program

GUIDING OUR GIRLS TO FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE

Edu-GIRLS believes in transforming the lives of our girls - educating them, helping them attain financial independence through meaningful careers, and preparing them to be empowered citizens. The Career Development Program (CDP), developed with Vimukti, has been the key instrument for achieving this objective.

The CDP helps identify and assess the skills and aptitudes of the girls and maps them to career choices by:

• Scanning the horizon to identify career options that will be in demand in future

• Exposing girls in class XI and XII to these career streams through workshops and lectures held by experts from different fields (for example, accounting, banking, computing, nursing and local administration).

• Identifying interests, aptitudes and capabilities using inputs from a Career Counselor and feedback from teachers to help guide career choices 

• Getting the buy-in of the girls’ parents for the chosen career path which could involve higher education or vocational training

Next, the girls are supported in the pursuit of their career goals:

• Scholarships help defray the costs of studies and training

•  Aid is also provided to meet transport and to other essential costs.

• For professional courses such as engineering, medicine and law, expenses are met for coaching classes and entrance examinations.

• A library is being created to make available books and course material that can help them prepare for entrance tests and competitive examinations.

• The girls come back every month to share their experience and give feedback so that the next batch of girls leaving school can benefit

The results have been very encouraging:

• Starting with one girl who graduated from college in 2019, a total of 38  had completed their Bachelor’s degrees by 2022 in subjects like Arts, Commerce, Computer Applications, Education, Office Management and Management Accounts.

• Another 46 girls have completed vocational programs in fields like Nursery Teaching, Fashion Design, Beauty Culture, Baking and Culinary Arts and Make-up Artistry to Event and Office Management.

• Internships have now been added to the CDP so that our girls can get hands-on experience in the industry or profession of their interest.

• Overall, we are immensely pleased that 50 girls have been placed in jobs between 2019 and 2021.

WHAT’S COMING NEXT…

• We are very excited about the progress made in achieving this key mantra of Edu-GIRLS.

• Vimukti is now seeking to extend this program to classes IX and X.

• It is also seeking new alliances with professional bodies, industry associations and institutions of higher learning to identify new opportunities for training, internships, and placements.

• And we at Edu Girls are looking to replicate the success of the CDP in the other schools accredited with us, starting with SRGVVK in Bangalore.

• Keep watching this page for more developments! Also, help us help more girls to achieve their career goals by donating to Edu-GIRLS.

BHUMIKA’S STORY

My name is Bhumika Wadhwani. My father passed away when I was  just 10 year old. He was the sole earner in the family and his loss turned our lives upside down. My mother started working as a house help but she was finding it difficult to  meet our educational expenses. But I was always ambitious about studying and wanted to give my mother a better life. In 2015, I got admission in Vimukti Girls School. Vimukti is more like a family to me. All the teachers are very supportive here. In the rough time of the pandemic, Vimukti supported me and my family with groceries and others necessities. All of a sudden, I lost my mother who was the most important person in my life. I thought my world had ended and I could not focus on studies. It was very difficult for me to study and manage the household chores at  the same time. but my teachers counseled and supported me in this most difficult time and motivated me to continue with my studies. After Class XII, my School helped me to discover what I am passionate about, pushed me to seek new experiences and strengthened my personality. I was able to enroll in the Diploma of Bakery and Culinary science through Jaipur National University. I go to meet our teacher every month with all the girls where I always get more motivation and guidance to live life better.

MAMTA’S STORY

My name is Mamta Dabla. I was born in a very poor family and am the eldest of two sisters and two brothers. My father passed away 13 years back and my mom worked as a housekeeper. i joined Vimukti girls’ school in 2004 and later on my two sisters also joined the school. My parents were quite happy as their daughters were studying in a good school without paying any fees, which was just a dream come true. But after my father’s death, we all had to face many ups and downs and financial issues. So I also started working in housekeeping to run our home and to support my mother. During that critical phase, my younger brother also had an injury in his head which affected his ability to learn. He is now 20 years old but cannot work anywhere due to this so we have to take care of him also. When the CDP program was launched in Vimukti, I got a call from there to do a vocational course which could help me financially to lead a respectable life. I did the Make-Up artist Certificate course from Lakme Academy and Cosmetology Certificate from National Institute of Ayurveda under CDP. Now I work work as a freelancer and I am earning well. My brother is taking therapy and we hope he will recover soon. It feels good when people call me a Make-Up Artist. Recently, I did make-up and hairstyling for many famous models in the well-known Beauty Event ‘Glam India Season 4’ and I received an award from the film actress Sayali Bhagat. It was a dream come true ! Now I feel more confident and independent.