The success story of Kashmir’s one-stop destination for career guidance, counselling
Srinagar, Apr 9: “Right since my school days, I have had a great longing to help the Valley’s educational and career ecosystem. I am glad that this dream of mine has come true,” says Sheikh Inayat Ullah, founder of career guidance and training organisation, “Move Beyond”.
A decade ago, the zest to conduct training and workshops, which we see Inayat doing now, was missing. Despite announcements of several government flagship schemes, their implementation on the ground in Kashmir was shoddy. Then came an idea from a starry-eyed youngster, with no lineage of any academician or a training guru.
Inayat, who belongs to a family of second-generation entrepreneurs, launched “Move Beyond”, to create a one-stop platform for students seeking career guidance, counselling, psychometric testing and assistance in studying abroad. “We have been working closely with the J&K government. One of our major achievements was that last year, UNICEF held consultations for career counselling in 20 districts of Jammu and Kashmir. This initiative has received an overwhelming response in the Valley,” says Inayat.
Also a public speaking enthusiast, Inayat manages his busy schedule between meetings with government representatives and frequent career counselling, and training sessions at reputed schools of the Valley. Ask him how it feels, while dealing with curious queries of students and pat comes the reply: “Every day I receive calls from dozens of students seeking guidance for choosing a career. Students in Kashmir are talented and need the right sort of hand-holding,” says Inayat.
What sets career guidance in Kashmir apart, is the effort that comes with it to help the Valley overcome the adverse impact of the political upheaval it has undergone. Inayat has been working with experts to address the psychological distress among the youth, which has exacerbated pre-existing career-related problems, such as indecision. “If counselling is not received, this can result in more serious mental health issues or additional career complications, which can create a downward spiral where a person’s overall functioning keeps declining,” Inayat adds. Diverting from this highly intense discussion, Inayat cheers up the mood, recollecting how thousands of youngsters such as his younger brother, Sheikh Samiullah are creating a strong startup ecosystem in the Valley. Samiullah heads Fastbeetel, Kashmir’s topmost indigenous logistics service provider. The magnitude of Inayat and his brother Samiullah’s work, in a place such as Kashmir, where opportunities are limited, can be gauged by the fact that Samiullah had last year participated in ‘Shark Tank India’, where he gave a pitch to the investors for his startup.
The young startup founder Inayat Ullah is not far behind. He has now established a full-fledged office of his organsiation in the heart of the Srinagar city. Professional career guidance and training has achieved new heights, to an extent that organisations such as “Move Beyond” have gained huge popularity among the youth in Kashmir, for which Inayat Ullah, has also received applause personally from the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu & Kashmir, Manoj Sinha.
Apart from ‘Move Beyond’, Inayat also heads Reform and Rehabilitation Foundation (RRF), a Sec 8 organisation registered with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), Government of India. “It was not easy to launch this concept in Kashmir but we found that the opportunity was ripe to become a bridge between government policies and students,” says Inayat.
The focus area of RRF includes career development of youth. RRF has also inked Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with JKST&IC, DST, J&K Government, and GIF, NIT Srinagar for promoting youth outreach and employability. Another feather in its hat is that RRF is a UN-verified agency and partner organisation of UNICEF India.
“RRF has been established to transform the lives of the youth in the country with special focus on J&K. Recognising the unique challenges faced by young individuals, RRF aims to bridge gaps in career guidance, skill development, and community resilience through knowledge, training, research and advocacy interventions,” says Inayat Ullah. “We believe that with the right support and guidance, the youth can achieve their full potential and contribute to the socio-economic growth of the society at large,” he says.
In a place such as Kashmir, which witnesses an extended winter season, during the last one year, Inayat Ullah’s company has done a fair bit of work. It held orientation for as many as 548 officials and onboarded 3,500 teachers for career guidance courses. Besides, 2,733 students and 336 teachers were sensitised on STEM careers and over 3,700 students applied for STEM scholarships. The encouraging statistics of Inayat’s company’s performance are a ray of hope for Kashmir, which has high rates of unemployment. According to the most recent quarterly Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), Jammu & Kashmir has the highest unemployment rate among urban jobseekers aged 15 to 29 (32%), followed by Odisha (30.4%).
Inayat Ullah says one of the projects of RRF aims at strengthening the career guidance ecosystem in J&K, as there is the need for a structured approach for career guidance among youngsters. “Almost 90 per cent of students opt for a wrong career path due to the lack of career guidance and the persisting gap between skills and aptitudes. Students are aware of eight or fewer professional alternatives, such as engineering, medical, law, finance, and Information Technology. In contrast, there are over 800 different career paths available for them to explore. This shows that there is an information/knowledge gap in the existing system,” Inayat Ullah says.
In terms of the way forward, Inayat underscores that there is a demand for more interactive career development sessions and mentorship programs. “There is a huge information gap among the students and the system too that needs to be addressed at the earliest. We are aiming at assistance and handholding to the schools for the establishment of career counselling cells and career guidance calendar in schools followed by capacity development programs for the designated career coordinators,” said Inayat Ullah.
