According to a TeamLease EdTech poll, a substantial majority of corporations in India want to expand their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) financing for skilling and education in 2022. According to the poll, which included over 100 organisations from around the country, approximately 70% intend to raise their CSR spending on education and skilling in the coming fiscal year.
The survey has indicated that the companies are eager to dedicate funds towards projects that can create maximum impact. The majority of funds are being directed towards imparting employability skills to school or college dropouts (22.8 per cent), women (20.4 per cent), and people with disabilities (18 per cent).
“It is welcoming to see that corporates are looking at further increasing their spends in education/skilling — close to two third of the respondents are planning to invest further. The investments coupled with active participation will help in addressing the gaps and enable our youth to beat the root cause of poverty — unemployment,” Shantanu Rooj, Founder & CEO of TeamLease EdTech, has said.
Findings of the survey: Aligning education and skilling in the CSR agenda
Around 95.83 percent of corporations allocate CSR contributions to education, vocational training, and sustainable livelihoods, with the remaining 50 percent going to health, hunger, poverty, and malnutrition, as well as safe drinking water and sanitation. Close to 45.83 per cent funds are also dedicated to initiatives that promote gender equality, women empowerment, old age homes, and reducing inequalities.
In fact, organisations that invest in several sectors devote a portion of their funds to education; 46% of respondents said they devote more than 50% of their funds to skilling and education.
Trends to Expect in 2022
In 2022, the optimism for CSR programmes aimed at skilling and education is projected to persist. Around 85% of businesses have revised their CSR programmes in response to COVID’s impact. Furthermore, 80% of organisations have already taken particular measures to constantly monitor and quantify impact, and 40% are even investing more to properly analyse the impact.
Challenges in Implementing CSR Programmes
The survey has indicated that many organisations have been facing pertinent challenges while implementing their CSR programmes.
“Accessibility, infrastructure, deployment continues to be a concern for companies. 70 per cent companies mentioned that connecting the right candidates to the right opportunities is their major perplexity,” Neeti Sharma, Co-Founder & President of TeamLease EdTech, said.
Sharma added that additionally, 42 per cent attributed lack of infrastructure as a cause for distress and even the pandemic hindered organic implementation of the CSR programmes.
