How Your Corporate Social Responsibility Education Programs Can Impact Tomorrow’s Workforce

Having been in the education market for more than 40 years, we’ve witnessed firsthand the evolution in teaching trends. What we’re seeing now more than ever is educators working with their students to foster more than just academic skills. They’re encouraging their students to recognize need in their community, and they’re using that to teach things from social entrepreneurship and budgeting to sustainability and communication.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) education programs can play an important role in this movement toward involving the whole child. They can be used as a teaching tool and in some cases, even incorporated into the curriculum. They can aid in social-emotional learning by developing empathy and caring for others. And, they can provide students with experience and skills they can take with them into the workforce.

Many CSR programs in education bring together groups of students and provide a great opportunity for them to develop 21st-century learning skills that will help them throughout their lifetimes.

Critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication are key skills for students to master in preparation for life after high school. We see in companies the benefit of critical thinking and creativity, and what can come out of that. And we see the negative impact when employees can’t collaborate together or communicate well. Understanding information, media, and technology provides computer literacy skills that can be tapped into through all markets. And life skills like flexibility, leadership, initiative, productivity, and social skills round out most of the qualities employers are looking for in their staff.

Having these skills provides an individual with value as a job seeker. Think about what your organization values in their employees. Consider how those skills can be layered into your CSR education program. Does your program ask students to collaborate, building on their social and communication skills? If technology is a large part of your CSR focus, does your program allow for students to think critically, be flexible, and use their creativity?

Students could recognize your program as a way to acquire these skills, and will keep that in mind as they join the workforce. And as an organization, you will be able to foster the skills that your company values in students who may very well become your next hires.

At MMS we’ve successfully worked with our clients to create programs that align with 21st-century learning skills, bringing value both to the organization and to the schools and students they impact. If you are looking for assistance in launching or enhancing an existing CSR program, we’d be happy to chat.