When programmes reflect the realities of people’s lives, they don’t just train, they transform pathways to work. – Ambika Sangaran

Ambika Sangaran is redefining what it means to create meaningful work in a rapidly changing world. As Co-Founder and COO of Mereka, she has built a talent development ecosystem that connects people to skills, mentorship and income-generating opportunities, with a particular focus on those often overlooked by traditional employment pathways. With over a decade of experience in operational excellence, capacity building and sustainable programme design, Ambika is recognised for her strategic leadership and commitment to fostering scalable, equitable change in the workplace.

At SEWF25, Ambika will join the “Beyond jobs: How social enterprises are creating pathways to meaningful work” session to explore how social enterprises can design employment systems that truly meet people where they are. Ahead of the event, we spoke with her about building pathways that reflect real lives, harnessing technology for inclusion and why the future of work depends on bridging opportunity gaps at every stage of life.

“If technology accelerates change, then our ecosystems must accelerate inclusion. That is the true opportunity and the great challenge in preparing people for meaningful work in the years ahead.”

Mereka has built a talent development ecosystem connecting people to skills, mentorship and income-generating opportunities. From your perspective, what are the biggest opportunities and challenges in preparing people for meaningful work in a future shaped by AI, automation and shifting economic realities?

I consider meaningful work as one that resonates with a person’s values and goals, allows them to learn and grow, gives them agency and recognition and contributes positively to their family, community, or society.

In Malaysia, too many jobs still fall short. Half of young workers aged 18–35 are in serious debt and nearly a third borrow just to meet basic needs. Even among graduates, 35.7% are in lower- or semi-skilled roles, limiting both income and purpose. For women, participation peaks at 78% in their late 20s but drops to 34% by their 50s, as caregiving often turns career breaks into career exits.

AI and automation could change this story, democratising access to knowledge, boosting productivity and freeing us from repetitive work to focus on creativity, empathy and innovation. But the risks are real: technology moves faster than our education systems and labour markets can adapt, leaving the marginalised behind.

That’s where ecosystems like Mereka matter. Our role is to connect skills, mentorship and income so lifelong learning is practical. That means bridges, not gates: local delivery beyond the Klang Valley, content in vernacular languages, industry co-designed curricula and “skill passports” that travel with a person across roles and life stages.

If technology accelerates change, then our ecosystems must accelerate inclusion. That is the true opportunity and the great challenge in preparing people for meaningful work in the years ahead.

You’ve designed programmes that help people upskill, pivot careers and re-enter the workforce. What have you learned about creating not just training, but real pathways to sustainable employment?

When we first ran employability programmes, one insight struck us: many of the ‘unemployed’ weren’t idle at all. They were running households, caregiving, or helping in family businesses, contributing invisible labour that rarely shows up in GDP. Later, when applications came from the underemployed, we realised the deeper challenge: people stuck in low-paying jobs with no way to upskill without risking their income.

That reshaped our approach. Pathways had to fit real lives:

• Flexible, mobile-first modules accessible anytime, anywhere.
• Evening classes after dinner, so learning doesn’t disrupt work or family.
• Placements with empathy, matching learners to employers by skills, confidence, personality and available hours.
• Pause-and-return options, recognising life disruptions like illness or caregiving.

We also found many didn’t know why they weren’t getting jobs. So we embedded skill assessments to show true market readiness, actual proficiency, realistic earning potential and how employers perceive them. This helped close the gap between self-perception and opportunity.

The biggest lesson? When programmes reflect the realities of people’s lives, they don’t just train, they transform pathways to work. 

As Co-Founder and COO, how do you balance operational excellence with staying agile in a rapidly changing employment landscape?

As COO, I see my role as building living systems strong enough to deliver consistently, yet flexible enough to pivot as contexts shift. Operational excellence gives us the discipline to scale; agility keeps us relevant.

At Mereka, the backbone is simple playbooks, clear metrics and reliable delivery. Around that, we embed fast feedback loops from learners, trainers and employers. We also protect space for experimentation through small pilots that test new methods or partnerships. 

This balance keeps us tight on outcomes, loose on methods. We hold firm on equity, employability and inclusion but stay flexible on the how. In today’s world, that balance is excellence.

“When built into daily work, capacity building stops being a cost. It becomes the engine that lets social enterprises scale impact and equity.”

Capacity building is often seen as a “soft” part of impact work, but you’ve proven it’s central to systemic change. How can social enterprises – which often struggle for time and resources – embed meaningful skills and organisational development into their models to advance social equity at scale?

We embed capacity building directly into how we work, so it grows alongside delivery instead of competing with it.

We use collective learning loops: when one team solves a challenge, it becomes a training for the whole organisation. This keeps knowledge moving quickly, not trapped in silos. Every process is documented and cloud-based, so onboarding is fast and collaboration is the default.

We also see experimentation as learning. Pilots are safe spaces to test new ideas and even failures produce insights that make us stronger. At the same time, we maximise resources through smart use of technology, tapping TechSoup, social enterprise discounts and partnerships to access tools that stretch our capacity.

The lesson is simple: capacity building doesn’t require huge budgets, just intention. When built into daily work, capacity building stops being a cost. It becomes the engine that lets social enterprises scale impact and equity.

Looking ahead to SEWF25, what conversations or connections do you hope to spark — both within the work/employment session and across the wider social enterprise community?

At SEWF25, I want us to share practical models that meet people where they are, from underemployed workers learning after dinner to women re-entering after caregiving. The question is: how do we design employment systems that reflect real lives, not idealised ones?

I also want us to commit to evidence-sharing with courage, asking which interventions genuinely lead to decent work and which do not. Finally, I hope to build connections around collective infrastructure and shared platforms for learning, placement and measurement. If technology accelerates change, then our collaborations must accelerate equity, so every worker, in every stage of life, has a fair chance.

If you could redesign one aspect of the global workplace to make it truly inclusive and future-ready, what bold change would you make?

To redesign the global workplace, I would close the gap between education and employment. High school and tertiary graduates, women re-entering the workforce and people in gig or non-traditional roles are all held back by outdated systems. What we need is an ecosystem where employers co-create curricula, universities embed real-world projects and continuous upskilling is accessible at every stage. When education and work move in step, careers become genuine pathways to income, purpose and dignity. If we fail, we risk wasting an entire generation’s potential.

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From funding to income:  How White Box Enterprises is supporting social enterprises to start and grow in Australia, while also generating revenue  This is why many autistic individuals are passionate about creating systems change – Sharon Zivkovic “When you invest in those the world has written off, they build not just jobs but futures.” – an interview with Abdul R. Shiil SEWF Social Enterprise Day: Collective action for people and planet Rural innovation in Sabah: How communities are leading change