Innovative ideas emerge in economic science to analyse various types of services in the social sector. Such is the case of ideas regarding human development. Here a question arises: how does economic thought value economic development?
The evolution of economic thought has consistently emphasized that the core objective of development is to benefit people and create wealth, preoccupying itself with the well-being of the whole society, not just the economy. As Dr. Mahbub ul Haq noted, a focus solely on technology and industry must not overshadow the concern for real people.
The 1994, Human Development Report underscored the necessity of human security: the security of people in their daily lives, jobs and communities, and also in their environment. To achieve this, policies were initiated to ensure more equitable distribution of growth. Against this backdrop, concepts like social development and critical human development gained prominence.
CSR as Catalyst for Human Development
The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is perfectly positioned to address the goals of human development. It is believed that MNC’s may justify socially responsible behaviour through “enlightened self-interest,” implying mutual benefits for the corporation and the community through CSR activities.
Recognising this potential, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) instructed the corporate sector in 2009 to disclose their CSR activities in their annual reports. This affirms its role in human and social development. By primarily focusing on the Education and Health sectors, improvement in foundation can be achieved, which is expected to lead to an automatic decline in the unemployment rate.
The Alarming NEET Crisis
There is an urgent need to address the issue of the Idle Youth bulge. In 2023, youth aged 15 to 24 constituted 18.5% of the population, increasing by 1 million annually recorded. The 2023 census reported 18.2 million youth in the NEET category (Not in formal Education, Employment, and Training), a situation termed an alarming catastrophe. The youth here, generally aged 15 to 30, are largely not engaged in productive activities.
Currently, over 26 million children are out of school, 53% of them girls and 67% never attended school. Despite the declaration of a National Education Emergency in May 2024, government spending on education declined significantly in the following quarters. Without adequate education and skills, this youth bulge may not find suitable employment, increasing the risk of social exclusion and adding to the percentage of people below the poverty line, as identified by OECD data (2021).
CSR Initiatives to Absorb NEET
Addressing this grave situation requires urgent action with the collaboration between authorities, civil activists, reformers, and the corporate sector. CSR is considered the potential game-changer for absorbing the Idle youth.
Past research into annual corporate reports identifies few key CSR initiatives that can be summarised as follows:
= Foundational Support: Focus on children’s education, either by adopting schools or sponsoring the expenditure of needy students.
= Skill Development: A crucial second phase: provide vocational training and internships with relevant industry skills.
= Employment and Enterprise: Companies should facilitate them in entering higher education or job roles, with job support for NEET youth being beneficial for them. Furthermore, CSR programmes can provide funds to aspiring youth to work on their “startups,” which creates employment opportunities for other Idle youth.
= Soft Skills and Community: Involving youth in community services programmes is another important initiative that instills a sense of responsibility.
= Digital Empowerment: For those uninterested in traditional schooling, they may be empowered through digital skills and online training as a necessary modern approach.
The success of programmes like Unilever’s young entrepreneurs programme, which offers funding and networking, and its “2nd life” collaboration with UNDP and SEED ventures demonstrate the impact the corporate sector can have. These examples urge other corporations to initiate similar programmes to absorb NEET youth.
The Need for Accountability and Awareness
While programmes exist, the issue of Accountability persists, as seen with government initiatives like the laptop scheme for high achievers-billions of rupees spent, yet what is perceived is to have produced the “army of tik tokers.”
This emphasizes the need to remind the youth of the responsible use of electronic gadgets, echoing the Tough Love advice from figures like Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas:
“Reels aren’t real learning. Stop scrolling and start thinking. Go build your own future.”
Ultimately, the most significant task is to increase “awareness of CSR initiatives” among the youth and communities so they can be actively and timely benefitted.
Moreover, this also helps the MNC’s and corporate sector entities, as effective and competitive CSR activities develop trust, boost their brand image, reputation, customer loyalty, and business success. They have to adopt various strategies according to the international standards as well as balancing them with local consumer expectations.
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