Introduction

India today stands at a remarkable demographic moment. With over 40 million students in higher education and around 10 million young people entering the labour market every year, the country possesses one of the largest pools of youthful talent in the world. Yet, alongside this demographic promise lies a quieter crisis. Despite degrees, skilling programmes, and expanding educational infrastructure, a large number of young people struggle with career clarity, confidence, and access to professional networks. The transition from education to employment remains uncertain, uneven, and deeply unequal. In this context, India does not just need more courses or more certificates—it needs a nationwide mentoring movement that can guide, support, and empower young people as they navigate an increasingly complex world of work.

Core Problem: The Education-to-Employment Gap

• A persistent gap exists between what the education system provides and what the world of work actually demands.

• Policy reforms and large-scale skilling infrastructure, while necessary, cannot by themselves address:

  • The challenges faced by first-generation learners

  • Gender and social inequalities in access to opportunity

  • The lack of exposure to real workplace cultures, expectations, and informal rules

• Many young people:

  • Do not know how to choose between career paths

  • Do not know how to present themselves in professional settings

  • Do not have anyone to turn to for practical, experience-based advice

• The situation is being further complicated by:

  • Artificial Intelligence and automation, which are rapidly reshaping entry-level jobs

  • Growing uncertainty about which skills will remain relevant and which will become obsolete

• In such a fluid environment, technical skills alone are not enough. Young people need guidance, perspective, and confidence to adapt.

Why Mentoring Matters

• Mentoring is fundamentally a human and relational intervention, not just a technical one.

• Unlike short training courses or one-time workshops, mentoring:

  • Builds confidence and self-belief

  • Helps young people develop judgement and decision-making abilities

  • Encourages adaptability and long-term thinking

• Global evidence consistently shows that mentoring:

  • Improves employability and career outcomes

  • Strengthens social intelligence and professional behaviour

  • Enhances self-efficacy and resilience

• Its impact is especially strong for:

  • Women

  • Youth from disadvantaged or marginalised backgrounds

  • First-generation professionals who lack family or social role models in formal sectors

• In many cases, a mentor does not just provide information—they change how a young person sees themselves and their possibilities.

The Gender Dimension of Mentoring

• The labour market is not a level playing field.

• Men, on average, have:

  • Stronger and more extensive professional networks

  • Easier access to informal referrals and opportunities

• Women job-seekers, on the other hand:

  • Rely more heavily on networks to find and retain jobs

  • Often face additional barriers related to confidence, workplace culture, and expectations

• Mentoring plays a critical role in helping women:

  • Navigate the unspoken rules of workplaces

  • Build confidence to stay and grow in their careers

  • Break through barriers to leadership and decision-making positions

• In this sense, mentoring is not just a career tool—it is also a powerful instrument of gender equality and inclusion.

Mentoring as a System, Not as Charity

• In India, mentoring is often seen as:

  • A voluntary, ad hoc, or charitable activity

  • Dependent on individual goodwill rather than institutional design

• This approach severely limits scale and impact.

• If mentoring is to truly transform human capital outcomes, it must be:

  • Institutionalised, not occasional

  • Embedded into:

    • Schools and colleges

    • Skilling programmes

    • Early-career employment ecosystems

• A serious mentoring system requires:

  • Alignment with curricula and career pathways

  • Safeguarding and monitoring mechanisms to ensure quality and trust

  • Smart use of digital platforms, combined with genuine human connection

• In other words, mentoring must be treated as core social infrastructure, not as an optional add-on.

Towards a National Mentoring Movement

• What India needs is not a few scattered mentoring initiatives, but a coherent national mentoring mission.

• Such a movement would involve:

  • Governments, to provide policy support, legitimacy, and digital platforms

  • Non-profits, to design frameworks, train mentors, and implement programmes

  • Employers, to encourage employees to serve as volunteer mentors and role models

  • Philanthropy, to fund long-term capacity and ecosystem-building

• The focus of mentoring should not be limited to job placement alone, but should include:

  • Career guidance and pathway planning

  • Mock interviews and exposure to professional networks

  • Leadership development and life skills

  • Help with navigating failure, uncertainty, and change

Way Forward: Making Mentoring a Core Development Strategy

• India must begin to treat mentoring as:

  • A productivity tool, because better-guided workers perform and adapt better

  • A social mobility enabler, because it helps bridge gaps of class, gender, and background

  • A gender-equality instrument, because it helps women and other underrepresented groups stay and rise in the workforce

• Scaling mentoring effectively will require:

  • Evidence-based programme design

  • Clear national standards for quality and ethics

  • Deep cross-sector collaboration between the State, civil society, and the private sector

• Just as India invested heavily in building physical and digital infrastructure, it must now invest in relational infrastructure that helps human potential flourish.

Conclusion

India’s demographic advantage will not automatically translate into economic or social success. Degrees and skills are necessary, but they are not sufficient. In a world of rapid technological change, social inequality, and career uncertainty, young people need guidance, encouragement, and trusted relationships as much as they need technical training. A nationwide mentoring movement can become one of India’s most powerful and humane investments—one that strengthens productivity, deepens social mobility, advances gender equality, and, most importantly, gives millions of young Indians the confidence to imagine and build better futures.