Antarang Foundation

Antarang Foundation is an organisation that helps young people in India move from school into careers they choose. It works with state governments and schools to make career education part of the high school curriculum. Its approach puts the public high school at the centre of a career readiness ecosystem. That ecosystem connects schools with local industry, peer role models and parent communities. Antarang aims to reduce the number of young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET), and believes every young adult, whatever their ability, has a career pathway suited to them.

Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Major Areas of Work

• Career education in public schools: Building career education into the curriculum of government high schools through partnerships with state governments.

• Self-awareness and career planning: Helping students understand their interests and strengths, set goals and plan their next steps after school.

• Career awareness and exposure: Linking students with local industry and peer role models so they can see the range of careers open to them.

• Employability skills: Building the skills young people need to enter and stay in work.

• Parent and community engagement: Involving parents so that students have support at home for their career choices.

Major Initiatives and Programmes

• State career readiness programmes: Career education programmes run with state education departments for students in Classes 9 to 12, including partnerships with the governments of Maharashtra, Goa and Nagaland.

• Career facilitator training: Training teachers and facilitators to deliver career education inside public high schools.

• 1:1 career counselling: Individual counselling sessions that help students choose and plan a career pathway.

• Antarang Career Chatbot: An online career guide available 24/7 that answers career questions and gives guidance.

• Antarangi Talks: An alumni video series in which former students share how they built careers in fields such as IT, healthcare and beauty.

Impact

Antarang states that it works with state governments across 5 states, and more intensively in 25 model districts within them. It has set a goal of placing 5 million young people in career pathways of their choice by 2030.

Partners

• Funders and philanthropic partners: SVP, UBS, Dasra, EMpower, Empowerment Foundation, ATE Chandra Foundation, Masoom and others

• Government: State education departments in Maharashtra, Goa and Nagaland, among others

Antarang suits people who want to work on education and youth employment at scale, especially through government systems. Staff work at the point where schools, government, industry and families meet. That gives exposure to curriculum design, teacher training, partnerships with state governments and direct work with students and parents. The organisation has been certified as a Great Place to Work. It is a good fit for people who care about helping first-generation and low-income young people make informed choices about their futures.