With 65% of Indians under age 35, youth, especially those from marginalised backgrounds, struggle to transition from the classroom to work. Out of 250+ career choices, 93% of youth are aware of only 7 career choices, due to lack of access to information, career counselling, fixed mindsets about careers, societal and cultural norms in India & no opportunities to practice informed decision making.
Career Quest is a choice based game for young people to practice career decision making. It has 8 characters from diverse backgrounds – gender, sexuality, region, class, religion – facing career dilemmas, all leading to different pathways in life. The player helps the character solve dilemmas and understand the impact of career decisions on social acceptance, financial stability and personal satisfaction. It brings in life situations such as negotiating choices with family, finding financial support, exploring options of learning and earning together.
A pilot with 1300 learners found the game was effective in:
· creating awareness about career pathways
· increasing confidence in decision making
· increasing empathy among players for people different from them
· building a growth mindset, showing multiple possibilities with career pathways
A low tech browser based solution with low internet bandwidth requirements, with no requirement of login process for ease of access.
The game is a 6.2mb, browser based game with a download time of only three seconds and no logins required. It is open to any learner to play, free of cost. A focused group discussion was held with 122 students who played the game. The ability to choose, making decisions and negotiate with family were some of the key takeaways for learners. The game has also been selected as part of Innovative Career Solutions in a recent ‘Call for Solutions’ by Dasra and UNICEF Yuwaah.
In the next 2 years, we aim to develop the game as a digital public good by:
-Incorporating diverse personas, multiple regional languages and career pathways
-Elevating the visual and gaming experience with features
-Partnering with CSOs to expand the user base, capture and study user engagement to fine tune the experience
>A facilitator can access a three minute tutorial on Youtube to introduce the game to learners.
>Learners can access the game by using this link: https://careerquestgame.questalliance.net.
>Choose a character of choice and experience the journey.
>A follow up discussion to address further interests.
Any organisation working in education can contact careerquest@questalliance.net for support.
