Community, Public Policy

The pressure on companies to sign up to the New Deal is intense. The government believes the credibility of the scheme (and its effectiveness) depends on the numbers of young people getting into "proper jobs". Both it (and most of the new MPs, according to MORI data which we examine in detail later in this issue) clearly judge corporate reputation on involvement in schemes like this, rather than on traditional donations-based community affairs alone.

But what to do, as most companies for sound economic reasons no long recruit many school leavers or unskilled young people? Some many revisit that issue, with the wage subsidy and training allowance tipping the balance. For most large companies, however, more feasible is to help others, rather than offer direct employment: providing mentors, supporting community groups and environmental groups to run their two 'options', backing SMEs and micro businesses take on the youngsters, increasing help to PYBT and others to deliver the self-employment 'option', and generally getting involved in local job creation partnerships.

One danger in all this is that the most attractive young people will get the private sector jobs, with the voluntary sector options becoming viewed as second best. Another is that, far from pushing people into work, the loss of benefits will actually push a hard core off the bottom of society and further into the informal economy, petty crime and delinquency. Traditionally the voluntary sector has been better at reaching out to these people than state schemes. So real help from companies to the charities on the frontline may actually turn out to be the best social contribution they can make.

Corporate Citizenship Briefing, issue no: 36 - October, 1997