In May 2001, while driving home from her advertising job in Mumbai, Priya Agrawal witnessed an incident of child abuse near the Shastri Nagar slums. As a mother of two toddlers then, the experience prompted her to look for ways to contribute to child welfare. She reached out to Shaheen Mistri, founder of the Akanksha Foundation, who encouraged her to join the social sector full-time rather than volunteering periodically. Leaving her decade-long advertising career, Agrawal worked with The Akanksha Foundation and then SNEHA before founding Antarang Foundation in 2012 to address key gaps in youth employability and career guidance.
The Career Guidance Gap in Public Education
Through her work in the social sector, Agrawal noted that while access to basic schooling in India has expanded, academic completion does not automatically guarantee employment. Today, approximately 75% of young Indians in education are the first in their families to complete high school and pursue higher studies.
Without family members or community mentors who have navigated formal career paths, these students often lack guidance during critical educational transitions. Although the number of youth Not in Education, Employment, or Training (NEET) has declined from 200 million in 2001 to approximately 103 million today, bridging the gap between school completion and career entry remains a major challenge.
Reflecting on this gap, Priya Agrawal shares:
“In India, we all believe what we are told: if you study, life will become better. But that is not true for millions of young people in India. Today, about 75% of young Indians in education are the first in their families to complete high school and go on to any form of higher education. How does a 16-year-old really decide where to go and what to do? There is no bridge. This is behind the worrying drop out rates in secondary school and how enrolment into college/ vocational education.”
Embedding Career Preparation in State Schools
Antarang Foundation addresses this issue by integrating career education directly into the public school framework. In Grades 9 and 10, the foundation conducts fortnightly career classes led by trained secondary school teachers or dedicated career facilitators.
During Grade 9, students evaluate their personal interests, aptitudes, and realities while exploring various vocational fields. In Grade 10, students build structured career plans aligned with local, state, and national opportunities, facilitating informed transitions into higher secondary education, vocational diplomas, or apprenticeships.
In Grades 11 and 12, the curriculum focuses on concrete employability skills through the Career Ready module. Students receive instruction in professional communication, email writing, resume creation, interview preparation, and online application processes. This training is paired with industry visits and practical exposure to local job markets.
To support families with immediate financial needs, Antarang encourages students aged 18 and older to take up part-time work alongside their college studies, which typically run for four hours a day. The organization also connects students with government apprenticeship schemes to help them earn an income while gaining industry experience.
Addressing Institutional and Systemic Barriers
Scaling career education within public school systems involves administrative and structural hurdles. High schools operate under tight academic schedules, making time allocation for non-academic classes difficult. Furthermore, public administration is divided across different departments: school education manages Grade 10, higher education oversees colleges, vocational departments handle diplomas, and labor ministries handle employment.
Because no single department oversees the transition phase between school and work, student tracking during this period is often overlooked. To resolve this, Antarang works directly with state education departments to incorporate transition tracking metrics into official school performance dashboards.
Explaining this administrative challenge, Agrawal states:
“Transitions post school are nobody’s baby. School education says, ‘My job is done.’ Then it is only when they enroll into college that it becomes higher education’s responsibility, or vocational education’s responsibility, or labor and employment’s responsibility. So this transition that happens is nobody’s baby and no one wants to take the job. The biggest challenge that we have faced is to persuade schools to track and report transition percentages, not just pass percentages.”
Measuring Outcomes and Managing Sectoral Challenges
Sustaining long-term development work involves emotional and professional demands. Agrawal notes that leadership burnout in the sector often stems from the slow pace of systemic change and witnessing unmet community aspirations over extended periods. Programs such as the Ashoka Fellowship provide peer networks and resources to help social sector leaders manage exhaustion and provide peer support.
Despite these challenges, Antarang Foundation has scaled its operations across 25 model districts in five states: Maharashtra, Haryana, Nagaland, Goa, and Rajasthan. To date, the organization has directly reached over 512,000 students. The program has achieved an 86% retention rate of students remaining on a career path in education, employment, or vocational training, compared to the national average of approximately 70%.
State governments and multilateral agencies like UNICEF are strong partners – in 2026, along with the Government of Rajasthan and UNICEF, Rajasthan, all 19,000 high schools in Rajasthan will receive career education as part of their school timetable.
Highlighting these operational realities, Agrawal shares:
“Burnout is very real because in this sector, you are on 24/7, and especially as a founder, it is hard to switch off. The exhaustion is because the challenges on the ground and the pace at which you are able to solve for it is very slow. You are constantly seeing a lot of the system being broken or students’ aspirations not being met. Luckily, support groups like the Ashoka Fellowship acknowledge this burnout and provide resources for us to take a pause.”
Leveraging Technology for Strategic Expansion
Over the next 5 to 10 years, Antarang Foundation plans to incorporate technology further to deliver real-time local job market information to high school students. By developing technology-enabled curricula, the organization aims to build a standardized national playbook by 2030 in collaboration with other ecosystem stakeholders that state governments across India can adopt.
With plans to expand operations into two additional states, Antarang has set a strategic goal to assist 5 million young adults in entering career pathways aligned with their aspirations by 2030.
Guidance for Corporate Professionals Entering the Social Sector
For corporate professionals considering a transition into the social sector, Agrawal advises committing to a multi-year period with a focus on learning rather than applying corporate solutions directly.
“If you truly want to be part of change or part of something much larger than yourself, the social sector gives you the opportunity to change lives every single day. I would really encourage anyone making the shift from corporate India to come with an open mind and come willing to learn, grow, and contribute, rather than coming with a mindset that says, ‘I know it all and I can apply the same solutions.'”
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
Priya Agrawal’s work with Antarang Foundation underscores the importance of integrating structured career guidance into public education. By providing first-generation learners with practical tools, market information, and self-awareness, the organization helps bridge the gap between academic completion and sustainable employment. Her approach demonstrates how institutional partnerships can create measurable pathways for youth across India.
How can public education frameworks better incorporate career guidance to ensure students successfully transition into the workforce?
