Schola, Malaysia’s first free digital career exploration platform for secondary school students, officially debuted at The Grounds, MAHSA Avenue, Kuala Lumpur. The launch was held in conjunction with “Kepoh Kerja dengan Schola”, a career discovery festival featuring over 50 professionals with close to 700 attendees participating, providing activities designed to help young people discover real career paths.
Developed by Creador Foundation, Schola was built to answer a critical question: How can students make informed decisions about their future, if they’ve not been exposed to which careers are even possible? Statistics reveal a concerning trend, where 8 out of 10 secondary school students in Malaysia lack essential knowledge about their chosen or dream careers; 7 out of 10 don’t actively research career options; and 6 out of 10 base their career choices on short-term factors.
“Students are being asked what they want to be when they grow up — hence our goal is to shift the focus by ensuring career exposure starts much earlier,” said Maha Subramaniam, Vice President of Creador Foundation and Head of Schola. “We spoke to over 1,000 students, and a clear pattern emerged: the primary focus on career alignment typically occurs near graduation based on the selected course. We aim to shift this mindset, empowering students to proactively explore career paths earlier and choose courses that truly resonate with their interests and ambitions from the outset.”
Through in-depth interviews with 230 professionals across various industries, Schola has developed over 150 job guides that provide students with real-life career insights. Users can take a simple and fun career personality quiz that matches them to a diverse list of jobs, match their favourite subjects to potential career options, and filter pathways to explore STEM and TVET fields.
Since its beta introduction in August 2024, Schola has reached over 190,000 users across all states, generated 4.7 million organic social media views, and has already gotten buy-in from 2,300 teachers nationwide.
At the launch, Shanthi Kandiah, protector, Creador Foundation said, “By encouraging students to consider their future fields of study and careers earlier, we aim to help them visualise the larger possibilities that lie ahead. Schola is committed to instilling this long-term perspective in young people, offering support through any obstacles they may face.”
Running alongside the launch, “Kepoh Kerjaya dengan Schola” also featured “Apa Kata Pakar” Ask-Me-Anything booths with professionals from over 40 careers in diverse industries, career personality quizzes and financial reality games, and photo booths designed to spark curiosity and confidence.
Schola’s core belief is that you can’t choose what you don’t know. With the support of educators, industry professionals and community partners, Schola hopes to keep expanding career clarity for all students — especially those who may not have access to it otherwise.
“This isn’t just any regular career guidance platform,” Maha added. “It was built by young Malaysians who only recently faced these same questions. They poured themselves into making something that actually works, because they know what it feels like to be unsure — giving students the chance to explore untapped possibilities in finding the right career path”
To discover more, Schola invites students, teachers, and parents to explore schola.org.my. For potential collaborations, including NGOs, industry partners and school systems, please contact schola@creador-foundation.com.
