iDreamCareer India’s only multilingual, largest unbiased full-stack career solution and guidance platform unveiled an updated version of its industry-leading career counsellor certification program which has since produced 850+ certified counsellors spread across over 105 districts in India and in 6 countries globally.  All applicants have to go through a 4-step rigorous selection process before being accepted for the program.

The refurbished certification program is of 90 hours in which three days are classroom-based followed by three months of online training. The next classroom sessions are slated across multiple cities as follows: Surat, February 14 to 16, Bangalore, March 13 to 15, Delhi, March 13 to 15 and lastly in Mumbai, April 3 to 5. The program is priced at Rs 15,000 – 20,000 per person.

In addition, the training program is accompanied by providing training material, exclusive iDreamCareer dashboard access of the proprietary content on 500+ careers, 1,849 specialisation tracks, 19,000+ colleges, 1,049 entrance exams, and 960+ scholarships. Selected trained career counselors are provided freelancing job opportunities with an average earning potential (estimate) post the certification of Rs 50,000 per month upwards in a flexible working mode with the opportunity to earn up to or more than 10 lacs p.a. Each trained counselor is additionally supported and handheld for one year.

According to statistics, 44 percent of Indian youth say career counselling is important for them but only 1 out of 10 students receive career guidance in India. 93 percent of Indian schools don’t have career counsellors leading to 77 percent drop out after class 10.

India needs 1.4 million career counsellors to achieve the standard ratio of 250:1 (students: counselor) prescribed by International School Counsellors Associations (ISCA). Though the problems of decreased awareness, parental and peer influence, and confusion are similar both in India and western countries, it is more intense here due to the large population and demographics. As per various reports, the market size for career assessment & guidance is over Rs 5,000 crore in India and is continuously growing.

Commenting on the program, Ayush Bansal, Founder & CEO, iDreamCareer, said, “The need and importance of career counselling and the lack of it in India are very evident from the above statistics. What we are trying to do through our program is to create a pool of high quality, well-trained career counsellors across the nooks and corners of India. A very interesting facet of the program is that over 80 percent undergoing it are women professionals who have taken a break and for whom career counselling provides a well-paying career opportunity while allowing them the flexibility they so require in their life. In a way this itself is a remarkable story of how at home women professionals are embracing and benefiting from the gig economy.”