At Thane, 1,300 dreams get direction

The Hindustan Times' Campus Calling career counselling series ended as it had begun: with a packed auditorium and hordes of students and parents grateful for the information and guidance on offer.

The Hindustan Times' Campus Calling career counselling series ended as it had begun: with a packed auditorium and hordes of students and parents grateful for the information and guidance on offer.

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The last session saw 1,360 students and parents throng Ram Ganesh Gadkari Rangayatan in Thane (West), where counsellors from Young Buzz made presentations about the various career options students had after the class 10 and 12 board exams.

They spoke not just about traditional career paths, such as medicine and engineering, but also about options that have emerged in India's post-liberalisation economy.

"They gave us so much of information about so many careers that now I can go through the brochures and select ones that suit my two children," said Devika Gokhale, whose children are in Class 9 and 10.

Over the past three weeks, as part of its Campus Calling initiative, Hindustan Times has held nine career-counselling sessions across the city. More than 8,000 people, mainly students, attended in all.

But students do not know what is available that best matches their interests and talents.Nearly three-fourths of city residents interviewed in Hindustan Times-Mumbai First survey conducted earlier this year felt the city did not have enough career counselling facilities.

The career counselling initiative is just one of many that Hindustan Times has undertaken to help students make the best use of the opportunities that emerge from this evolution.

Those at the Thane session hoped that more were in the offing.

"Careers are very important, so the initiative by HT helped thousands of students without access to accurate information," said Ramesh Kalyan Shetty, a parent. "The execution was flawless and the counsellors very well-informed. Students need more of this."