Avtar Group, India’s leading Workplace Culture Solutions firm unveiled a unique initiative that would enable young girls studying in colleges to lead intentional careers post their tertiary education. This program designed to bridge the gap between education and employment for college girls across India will be conducted by Avtar Group’s not-for-profit arm, Avtar Human Capital Trust (AHCT).

Called Nipuni Career Pathing, the initiative was announced at the 13th Edition of Udyog Utsav, a unique one-day career visioning conference for the girl students who are part of AHCT’s Project Puthri, which is a life skills training program conducted exclusively for girls in government and corporation schools across Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Bengaluru.

Taking a step further, Nipuni Career Pathing, the career readiness program for girl students in colleges to transform career opportunities for girls paving the way for a skilled, self-reliant workforce in corporate India.

The Coimbatore operations was formally launched by Ms. Selvarani, Mylsamy, Senior Lead Consultant, Bosch. The event saw the participation of over 500 students from about 10 government schools across Coimbatore, took place Hindusthan College of Arts and Science was presided by Secretary TKR Sarasuvathi and Principal, A.Ponnuswami.

Talking about AHCT’s initiatives, Dr Saundarya Rajesh, Managing Trustee, AHCT, and Founder President of Avtar Group, said, “Career intentionality is not about finding a job. It is about shaping identity, owning the professional direction, and exercising agency at careers where it matters the most. At Avtar, we have always believed that thought leadership must translate into impact. Nipuni is our next leap in that journey. Backed by our latest research, we know that young women are deeply motivated to pursue meaningful careers, when they have access to the right ecosystem.

Nipuni will offer them just that: critical skills in communication, leadership, IT, and project management—delivered in collaboration with industry. By launching 10 pilots in Tamil Nadu and aiming to prepare 10,000 college-going women over the next three years, we are investing in a future where inclusion begins in classrooms and culminates in boardrooms. With Nipuni, we move one step closer to building a truly Viksit Bharat, one career, one woman, one community at a time.”

Commenting on Project Puthri, she highlighted that the initiative has positively transformed the lives of over 12,000 underprivileged girls across Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Karnataka. The program fosters career ambition by providing mentorship and essential skills training that empower these girls for professional success and financial independence.

“We have partnerships with over 130 schools. We enroll girls from economically and socially disadvantaged backgrounds—such as orphans, children of single parents, and others—starting from grades 8 through 12 in this program. Through a curriculum of 40 life skills focused on building career intentionality, the program offers role-modeling sessions and mentorship in areas like leadership, critical thinking, and resilience. Each week, participants receive 1 to 1.5 hours of training. Additionally, Puthri provides career coaching for 10th to 12th-grade students, tailor made based on psychometric assessments of the students.”

“The combination of a career visioning conference like Udyog Utsav and educational institutions such as Hindusthan College creates the ideal platform for girl students to gain exposure to diverse career opportunities. This is a space where ambition meets awareness, and where potential is shaped into purpose. For many of these students many of whom are first-generation learners, Udyog Utsav serves as a unique convergence of corporates, colleges, and volunteers, working together to instill career intentionality and help map their professional futures.

The platform introduces them to a wide range of possibilities from understanding computers and their applications, to exploring various academic courses and eventual career paths in leading organizations,” said TRK Sarasuvathi, Secretary, Hindusthan College of Arts and Science addressing the students at Udyog Utsav.

AHCT also provides scholarships to support girls in higher education. In the academic year of 2024-25 alone, it offered Rs. 78 lakhs in scholarships for students pursuing vocational courses, arts and science programs, and engineering diplomas and degrees.

The career visioning conference comprised knowledge sharing sessions delivered by corporates for the Puthris to learn and discover various streams of higher education and career opportunities that lie ahead of them. Over 20 institutions, corporates and organizations, joined the 13th edition of Udyog Utsav making it a more vibrant choice for the Puthri scholars. These include Cognizant, Ayurveda College, Coimbatore, Indian Army, Bosch Global Software Technologies Private Limited , Bradken, KG College of Physiotherapy, Emote Electric, PMI Chennai Chapter, RVS College of Engineering and Technology, Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education for Women- Coimbatore, Annalect India (Omnicom Global Solutions), Part of Omnicom Media Group and six other departments from Hindusthan College of Arts and science.