Fellowship part of PepsiCo’s ‘Roshan Kal’ platform: graduation ceremony held

ISLAMABAD: More than 2,290 students graduated from the PepsiCo-supported career-prep fellowship by the Amal Academy here on Thursday providing job opportunities to the young graduates.

The educational start-up held its graduation ceremony for students from 180 cities, towns, and villages at a series of celebratory events held in Lahore, Karachi, and Peshawar. The graduation ceremony was attended by Amal Academy CEO Ali Siddiq, PepsiCo Senior Director Sales and Corporate Affairs Mohammad Khosa, and chief guest and notable academic Director and Senior Fellow at the Institute of Development and Economic Alternatives (IDEAS), Dr Faisal Bari.

The fellowship is part of PepsiCo’s “Roshan Kal” platform aimed at developing students’ professional skills through internships and skills development programmes. The programme creates opportunities for youth to develop skills such as communications, teamwork, leadership, positive thinking, and growth mindset. It focuses on specific career skills such as interview preparation, job placement, and project presentation. Enhancing professional skills enable university graduates to improve their chances of gaining meaningful employment.

To date, Roshan Kal has created over 6,300 opportunities for youth through its internship programme and its professional skills development programme that is run in collaboration with Amal Academy. Based on graduate surveys, seventy percent of the programme’s graduates receive an offer of employment within three months of completing this programme.

Present on the occasion, Amal Academy CEO, Ali Siddiq, said that I would like to express my gratitude to PepsiCo for enabling us to expand the reach of our fellowship programme across Pakistan, and also for helping us launch a teacher training initiative this year to help bridge the industry-academia gap.

In his address to the fellows present at the ceremony, he added, “I’m humbled and proud to see how you have chosen a path of lifelong learning and civic responsibility. You are the leaders this country needs, and we are honored to be part of your journey to reaching your full potential.”

Senior Director Sales and Corporate Affairs, PepsiCo Pakistan, Mohammad Khosa, commented, “I am truly proud of Amal Career-Prep Fellows 2021 for successfully completing the programme and joining us on this life-changing journey to emerge as resilient, knowledgeable, and socially responsible youth, working toward a brighter future of our country. PepsiCo’s investment in this programme is part of our broader social impact commitment toward fostering positive developments in accordance with PepsiCo’s In, With and For Pakistan mission.”

In 2021, PepsiCo Amal Career-Prep fellows initiated and led some remarkable community impact projects. The fellows came together to collect PKR 5 million for Edhi Foundation during a fundraising drive and executed other mega projects to positively impact the lives of 9,000 people across Pakistan. In addition, there has been an eighty percent success rate in terms of job placements for the graduate fellows this year.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021