Conservative education methodology has provided astonishing leaders in the past. Still, advancements in education are the need of the hour to seek a balance in procuring the best possible career opportunities for students. Tried and tested method of building a career is indeed a way to move forward but is it relevant in this modern era where things change in a blink of an eye?
‘What to do next?’ is the most asked question students ask themselves after graduation. Confused to which side to tilt on and to balance themselves on a seesaw of career and studies, 80% of the students feel confused about their future.
In such a dilemma, most students look for support that will guide them to a better future. Being in a developing country like India and most of the population residing in rural areas, it has become difficult for students to seek support that would guide them. This has also led to saturation in prominent professions like doctors and engineers.
However, the world is now connected with technological advancement, and it has opened doors for students to explore. Bass Ek Raah Charitable Society, a popular name among the youth of today, has become a guiding lamp for students who don’t know what to do in the future. As the name suggests, it helps the students choose a suitable path and excel in it, as every person requires just one stream to succeed in life.
To help that 80% find their ideal path and contribute to the nation’s growth Ms. Chetna Sabharwal, Founder of Bass Ek Raah Charitable Society, set up this society to be the guiding lamp for the youngsters.
In conversation with The Knowledge Review, she shares her beautiful journey of being the guide for the youth and how Bass Ek Raah has transformed the lives of students and the people around them.
Bass Ek Raah: The Right Road Taken
With a vision of guiding the future generation towards a holistic career, Bass Ek Raah was founded. Over the years, with a well-connected network and expertise in career counseling, the charitable society has guided many students to choose their careers.
During the COVID-19 global pandemic, Bass Ek Raah found an opportunity in such uncertain times, reached out to students from more than 10 countries, and guided more than 10000 youth to restart, rebuild, and re-establish their careers. The core values that the charitable society focused on were:
- Career Guidance
- Women Empowerment
- Mental Health Awareness
- Teachers’ Training
Bass Ek Raah spent the first few months in extensive planning and delivered incredible results to the youth worldwide.
Serving Excellence
Being clueless about the future amid uncertain times is a major concern for students and also for working-class professionals. Moreover, during the pandemic, this arose as a significant challenge in all sectors. Making a quick shift and reaching out to people became the need of the hour for people; Bass Ek Raah decided to give momentum to the halted tracks.
The internet and advancement in technology served as a medium for all forms of communication. Guiding students, and working-class professionals and empowering women to choose a better way for their careers, Bass Ek Raah Served excellence during these tough times. Talking about their service during the uncertain times of COVID-19, Founder Ms Chetna Sabharwal says, “Since March 2020, our major challenges appeared from all quarters as all the work came to a halt and each one of us being clueless about how to make a quick shift to online and yet reach out to help people in need. Nevertheless, when the tribe has vibes, nothing can stop the movement.”
Training for Future Employability Skills
One of the core aspects that boosted the growth and made Bass Ek Raah a favourite platform for youth and women is their ‘Future Employability Skills’ program. Society has recognised the changing nature of businesses worldwide, which has contributed immensely to the holistic growth of the community. Sectors like Hospitality, Travel & Tourism were the most affected and society made sure that the lay-off of freshers and employees in their early careers is just a phase for upskilling and being ready for the global workforce again.
While collaborating with more than ten organisations worldwide, Bass Ek Raah has provided a set career path for learners. Moreover, the program’ Future Employability Skills’ focuses on developing the relevant power skills to help them survive and excel in their chosen careers.
Empowering Women for Career Transition
Bass Ek Raah has achieved the milestone of training more than 10000 women for career transition with other NGOs. They have been on the mission to empower learners and help them seek the right path for their future. Moreover, the vast network set by Ms Chetna Sabharwal contributed immensely to training and empowering women during these challenging times.
Talking about the society’s contribution to career transition, Ms Chetna Sabharwal says, “All the members and volunteers of our society have contributed to around 15 cities to achieve our mission of empowering the learners, schools, teachers, and women who lost their parents/spouses due to covid and were looking for jobs to support their family. Vocational training on setting up their cloud kitchen, digital skills, and entrepreneurship, along with full support of soft skills and resume review, was provided to all. Collaboration with like-minded NGOs and CSR providers helped us in engaging the youth to volunteer for all these projects. With a team of capable volunteers, our counselling team has been able to guide students mainly for their careers, academic performances, and personal concerns.”
Creating a Brighter Tomorrow
Teachers play a very crucial role in guiding students to their desired dream. Bass Ek Raah has realised that they decided to train teachers to serve as the guiding lamp for the future. Most of the teachers in the country and not familiar with the digital transition and lack miles behind the current generation.
Bass Ek Raah has trained more than 5000 Teachers on digital transformation and made them updated with the current technology. With such an innovative approach and relevant methods, the charitable society has dedicated itself to creating a bright future for tomorrow.
Ms Chetna Sabharwal: Life Coach for the Future of Tomorrow
Ms Chetna Sabharwal, a social entrepreneur, is currently the Director of SkillsReform Pvt Ltd and the Association of Indian Principals. With a master’s in psychology, NCERT certification, GCC UCLA certification for career counselling, and being a UK certified Life coach, she came up with creating a charitable society for the youth in 2015. This is how she came up with the idea of Bass Ek Raah, to guide students toward a holistic future and create a bright future.
With more than 25 years of experience merged at the carrefour of education, mathematics, psychology, and career guidance. “The greatest good you can do for another does not just share your riches but reveal to them their own.” Her way of exemplifying this quote by Benjamin Disraeli makes her an International career expert.
With her voluntary contributions at forums like shiksha.com, careerguide.com and the next genius foundation, she believes in collaboration and has been conferred with the ‘Expert of the Year’ Award in 2017.
Bass Ek Raah is her brainchild developed as a multipronged approach to reach out to students and mentor and guide them. Ms Chetna Sabharwal, though Bass Ek Raah, has empowered more than 30000 students from diverse backgrounds to date. One of the highlights of various workshops she has conducted was Math Phobia which helped students overcome the fear of mathematics subjects. Her other prominent workshops are related to careers in STEM in the future, the effect of positive psychology, and relevant skills-set for the job.
