Chandigarh: Punjab has taken a lead across the country by collaborating with the IIT Madras Pravartak to roll out statewide career guidance program to create a structure where every teacher becomes a trained career mentor. Disclosing this here today, Punjab Education Minister S. Harjot Singh Bains said that over 5,000 teachers will be trained to guide students towards informed, future-ready career choices under the ambitious teachers-upskilling program.
S. Bains stated that the program will offer teachers free online training in foundational career counselling, skills for classroom sessions and one-on-one guidance. They will gain access to top 100 high-demand careers, structured assessment tools and a comprehensive guidance framework aligned with emerging national and global career trends. IIT Madras Pravartak will provide continuous academic support and digital resources.”Our goal with this collaboration is to make a meaningful impact by enabling teachers to serve as effective career mentors in their schools. Through this engagement teachers will serve as the backbone of a structured career guidance ecosystem”, S. Bains stated, while adding that now, Punjab becomes the first state to implement a state-level career counselling guidance program for teachers.
S. Harjot Singb Bains said that once trained, teachers will be equipped to help students identify their strengths, explore new-age professions and choose pathways grounded in evidence and aptitude — not guesswork or hearsay. Dr Amarpal Singh , Chairman PSEB added that this nitiative is expected to particularly benefit students in rural and underserved areas, offering them access to high-quality guidance that was earlier limited to private counsellors. Over the next few months, thousands of teachers will acquire new skills, new confidence and a new ability to shape the futures of lakhs of children.Expressing happiness over the partnership with PSEB, Chief Knowledge Officer of IIT Madras Pravartak Mr Srikanth said, “Our aim is simple — no child in Punjab should make a career choice in confusion or without the right information.”
