Introduction and Justification of Selected Social Issue
Youth unemployment is the most common type of unemployment that is currently affecting the UK and the global economy very badly. The social issue of youth unemployment has been selected as after the COVID-19 pandemic unemployment has significantly increased due to the economic downturn and recession. With the reduction of “demand for different products and services” many firms have failed to generate good business and then employees are forced to be laid off. The most common causes of youth unemployment are gaps in skill, shortage of professional skills, the lack of coordination in “government institutes, and inability to access career advice”. Most importantly, discrimination in the education system plays a significant role in youth unemployment in the UK and global extent.
The selected social issue for this essay is “youth unemployment” as this issue is causing severe negative impact on the youth both mentally and financially. Youth unemployment induces further inequalities specifically in communities and can create emotional problems in youth. The downturn in the country’s economic activity will further “initiate unemployment as the cost of living” is becoming higher. The social and personal cost due to unemployment has led to “intense financial difficulties and consequently, the increase in poverty, homelessness, huge debt and housing stress”. The negative impact of unemployment is so severe that can lead to increased social isolation, stigma, shame, and diminishing self-esteem.
Empirical Research on the Social Issue
The social issue of Youth Unemployment in the UK
As per Lambovska et al. (2021), the UK has implemented several strict measures during the time of COVID-19 and it led to a notable increase in unemployment. The COVID-19 shutdown has caused an increase in youth unemployment from 2.8 to 4.8 million. Unfortunately, the rate of youth unemployment will rise to 26% in upcoming years and the number of unemployed youth will increase from 4.7 to 6.7 million (Tamesberger and Bacher, 2020). The youth unemployment rate has a clear correlation to the general economic development in the UK and affects the UK economy. Currently, in the UK nearly 524, 000 people are unemployed aged between 16 to 24 years old and in the second quarter part of 2023, the highest of any age group. As recorded in 2022, 4% of the “economically active” population was unemployed and belonged to the age group 16 to 24. Deng et al. (2022), stated that before the onset of the global pandemic in 2019 the rate of youth unemployment in the UK was estimated at 11.4% from 2005. The number of people searching for work in the UK increased by nearly 330,000 during the last 3 months according to the record of the “Office for National Statistics (ONS)”. The increase in the number of “economically inactive” people has induced the rate of youth unemployment to nearly 3.5%. The rate of unemployment in the West Midlands Metropolitan country was recorded as 6.3% during the 12 months to March 2023. The rate of youth unemployment in the UK was 4.3% in July 2023 it was a rise from the previous month when the rate was 4.2%. The increasing rate of youth unemployment has enhanced the emotional issues among youth and has diminished the career potential of youth and their life-long earning.
The Social Issue of Youth Unemployment in the Global Context
According to Lambovska et al. (2021), in the present scenario, youth unemployment is a complex and serious social issue with far-reaching consequences globally. This significant social issue affects millions of young people and creates a negative impact on almost all countries across the globe. The COVID-19 pandemic and worldwide lockdown have exacerbated this situation, as many workers have been forced to reduce their working hours and income or lost their jobs. The “International Labour Organization (ILO)”, estimates that near about 8.7% of working hours were lost in 2020 across the globe that equivalent to almost 255 million full-time jobs. The ILO said that the world youth unemployment rate in 2020 was approximately 13.6%, which is considered the highest rate in the last 13 years. The consequences of youth unemployment are not only economic it also affects several aspects of social, psychological and international relations. The main reasons for youth unemployment are multi-effected and may vary in different countries and regions throughout the world. As per McLennan, (2021), the most common causes are lack of quality training and education, skills mismatch, the precariousness of work, informality, labour market rigidity and discrimination. The report says that youth unemployment affects nearly 67.6 million young people around the world. In some countries, almost 30% of young people are suffering from unemployment, which is very alarming and more than twice the global rate. Young people who are underemployed or unemployed may experience higher stress levels, lower self-esteem, increased risk of various mental health problems and lower life satisfaction (Nanda, 2023). Unemployed young people also face marginalisation, reduced civic participation and social exclusion. Moreover, unemployment can have multiple impacts such as social cohesion, productivity, and human capital development among the young generation. The “International Labour Organisation” warned that extended periods of youth unemployment may create a “lockdown generation” that will suffer from career prospects and earnings throughout their lives. Matraeva et al. (2020), mentioned that youth unemployment has negative consequences for society, such as “higher crime rates”, “lower tax revenues”, “lower economic growth”, “lower social cohesion” and “higher social spending”. Hence, addressing the growing percentage of youth unemployment is a priority for stakeholders, policymakers and the government of every country at the national and international levels. People of the young generation need a comprehensive approach involving education and training programs, government policies, international collaboration and support for entrepreneurship.
Use of Social Entrepreneurship-related Academic Concepts and Literature
Business Enterprises
“Social entrepreneurship” is a dynamic and evolving idea that has achieved substantial interest in academic literature, shaping the landscape of the modern business industry. Weerakoon, (2021) stated that one main idea in social entrepreneurship is the "double bottom line," which emphasises the simultaneous pursuit of monetary and social desires. This diverges from traditional business models that primarily focus on income maximisation. It is often said by the scholars that social firms play a very important role in the sustainable development by the contribution in the financial growth. While it often addresses to the social issues as and when recognised. According to Cagarman et al. (2020) "social innovation" is is the process which is ideal for social entrepreneurship. The introduction of original answers to the societal problems is regulated through the collaborations within various stake holders. The social marketers enhances the business models, technologies and strategies. This helps to bring positive changes through positive situations and motivate others to adjust with the situation. The "triple bottom line" widens the framework to include the considerations of the environment. This emphasises the want for several businesses to measure their implications on “humans earnings” and the “planet”. The societal acceptable practices, like environmental sustainability, and moral decision making are very important in this regard. As per Herutomo et al. (2022), the academic literature on social entrepreneurship gives descriptive ideas in case studies, structures, and certain theories which ellaborates a successful framework and the demanding situation in this generation. The researchers find out that how social firms goes through the complicated economic viability with the dedication of their societal improvement. Organisation which includes the principles of social entrepreneurship often portray extra mileage. This helps to built acceptance and loyalty within people who admire their dedication to the reasons of society and environment.
Social Businesses
According to Au et al. (2023), drawing upon social entrepreneurship-associated instructional principles and literature, those corporations strive to attain both monetary and social targets, fostering high-quality exchange in groups. Scholars in this discipline emphasise the significance of mixing commercial enterprise ideas with a social challenge to create an enduring effect. Garga and Kumarb, (2023), stated that one key idea regularly discussed is the “triple bottom line”, which considers no longer the handiest financial earnings but also social and environmental outcomes. This framework, popularised by academicians like “John Elkington”, underscores the significance of businesses contributing to the well-being of society and the planet. Social companies leverage this idea with the aid of prioritising people and the environment alongside financial sustainability. The works of “Muhammad Yunus”, a Nobel laureate and the founder of microfinance, have also formed the discourse on “social entrepreneurship”. Yunus added the idea of "social business" as an entity only dedicated to addressing social issues. These organisations perform with only intention of benefiting society, reinvesting profits to similarly their social task. As per Villegas-Mateos and Vázquez-Maguirre, (2020), furthermore, literature on the "base of the pyramid" (BoP) highlights the capacity of social companies to uplift marginalised communities. “C.K. Prahalad's” influential thoughts emphasise growing sustainable business trends that deliver to the desires of the low-profits populace. Social entrepreneurs leverage “BoP” standards to increase products and services which are reachable and less costly, thereby empowering disadvantaged groups.
Non-profit Organisations
“Non-profit organisations (NPOs)” work in favour of human and environmental well-being by addressing different social issues and minimising them. NPOs always focus on mitigating social illness while prioritising a better outlook of society and all the work is done without any monetary profit. Adro and Fernandes, (2022), said that NPOs create awareness about any social disasters among the people of remote areas also so that each person is educated about the right information. They build a strong team to overcome social issues through education, medical treatment, food or any sort of assistance. These factors not only improve the living quality of society but also provide courage to deal with upcoming challenges. As per, Hardina (2021), sometimes Non-profit organisations look after litigation-related matters and directly converse with administrations to minimise social disturbance. They play a crucial role in managing human rights while promoting the sufferings of common people by providing justice to the people. The importance of Non-profit organisations is diversified, they also work on environmental protection by educating people on climate change and sustainability. Moshtari and Vanpoucke, (2021), mentioned that non-profit organisations play an important role as social entrepreneurs in terms of resolving the greatest issue of the current time, “Youth Unemployment”. In the UK, NPOs arrange different “Skill development programs” to educate young people regarding job-based skills and knowledge. They arrange different career counselling campaigns in the country to provide a suitable roadmap for job aspirants. NPOs arrange job networks all across the globe, to get information and connection among job seekers and providers.
“Social Businesses” to overcome the Issue of Youth Unemployment
With the help of social impact objectives and profit-given activities as a combination, the challenges of youth unemployment can be addressed through the "Social businesses" concept. Social businesses are unique entrepreneurship-related academic concepts that prioritise environmental or social goals together with financial sustainability (Gigauri and Damenia, 2020). Social businesses generally establish several training programs focused on providing young individuals with relevant skills for the job market. By incrementing these strategies social businesses can massively contribute to overcoming the difficulties of youth unemployment. At the same time, it can also promote sustainable economic development in almost every country across the world.
Advantages “Social businesses” for resolving the issue of Youth Unemployment
One of the key advantages of a social business is its “impactful strategy.” Since a social business typically revolves around doing good for both society and the environment, its utility will be highly impactful in the long run (Rosca et al. 2020). For any business operating in any part of the world, an impactful strategy can help by offering various vocational training programs and apprenticeship programs to develop various entrepreneurial skills and build different skills. In the UK, social businesses will help create direct employment opportunities, improve social procurement and develop employment networks.
Another advantage of social business is the creation of “strong professional relationships.” Through limitless mentorship and guidance, the youth or the future workforce will be aided with multiple networking and knowledge of new job openings (Scerri et al. 2020). Internships, apprenticeships, and workshops will not only help develop skills in the youth but also help them network with other brilliant and hardworking minds of the region. In the UK, business will be helped by the development of a positive workplace culture, a professional network, and people who are willing to give their best for the company.
“Creativity” is an outstanding outcome of fostering a social business. In any industry, creativity will develop smart employees who will provide more productivity and also save time for their organisations. Creative people will help the UK companies beat the global competition by being intangible assets for their companies (Sukumar et al. 2020). A creative workforce will aid in innovation, rapid development, company branding, and quality work.
Limitations “Social businesses” for resolving the issue of Youth Unemployment
“Lack of funding” is one of the key limitations of sustaining a social business. In most parts of the world, the model is completely misunderstood, which makes investors hesitant to inject funds into the business (Reficco et al. 2021). The limited scalability of the model and longer return time frames also make potential investors abstain from funding social businesses. It also makes employability in such businesses a problem since candidates have a wrong perception of the model. Low visibility and branding of such companies alongside noncompetitive compensation makes potential talents choose other sectors not only in the UK but worldwide.
The model is “hard to gain trust” not only from potential investors but also from the unemployed youth. Investors try to invest money in sectors where there is a good track record, but a social business may not have that attractive power (Molecke and Pinkse, 2020). Youth isn’t attracted because of a lack of transparency and inconsistent communication. For change to happen, the market perception of social business has to change since the sector in the UK has previously been a part of several failures and scandals.
“Lack of accountability” is also an important limitation of a social business which makes youth employability in the sector a major concern. The roles and responsibilities in these businesses are in the mist, which leads to poor communication between employees and their superiors (Lo et al. 2020). Leaders in the sector must come forward to address changes and take accountability into their own hands.
Conclusion
From the above discussion, it can be concluded that “Youth unemployment as a social issue” is the biggest concern of the world and it is currently hampering the world’s economy adversely. The COVID-19 pandemic and current global recession affect employability and it is disturbing the pillar of the socio-economic condition of the UK as well. The global unemployment rate reached up to 13.6% in the year 2020 during the pandemic which is considerably higher than the previous 13 years. Youth unemployment not only affects the economy but also disturbs the psychology of young people and that is quite alarming in the modern world. As per the report, 4% of economically active people from the age group of 16-24, are unemployed in the UK in 2022. The unemployment rate is constantly increasing and affecting the economy of the UK adversely by demolishing the career aspects of the youth. Through business enterprises, social businesses and non-profit organisations youth unemployment can be resolved to a certain extent by taking different effective steps all across the world. Social business organises different training campaigns to improve the skills and knowledge of job seekers and try to mitigate the issue regarding employment. Every social entrepreneur approach has a few limitations to cater to youth unemployment but battling against those issues and overcoming the worldwide social illness.
Unlock Better Grades with Trusted Assignment Help
Academic goals are easier to achieve when you have the right support. Our Assignment Help connects you with skilled writers who are experts in their fields. We pay close attention to your guidelines and marking criteria to create assignments that impress professors and earn high scores. Whether you’re an undergraduate or pursuing a master’s degree, we provide content that reflects your level of study. With our help, you’ll gain confidence, save time, and see real improvement in your academic performance.
References
Adro, F.D. and Fernandes, C., (2022). Social entrepreneurship and social innovation: Looking inside the box and moving out of it. Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research, 35(4), pp.704-730.
Au, W.C., Drencheva, A. and Yew, J.L., (2023). Narrating career in social entrepreneurship: Experiences of social entrepreneurs. Journal of Social Entrepreneurship, 14(3), pp.343-369. Available at: https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/171630/1/Manuscripts%20with%20full%20author%20details%2013122020.pdf
Cagarman, K., Kratzer, J. and Osbelt, K., (2020). Social entrepreneurship: dissection of a phenomenon through a German lens. Sustainability, 12(18), p.7764. Available at: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/18/7764/pdf
Deng, Z., Arim, R., Henseke, G., Schoon, I., Dietrich, H., Murray, A., Smyth, E. and Dupéré, V., (2022). Youth unemployment in Canada, Germany, Ireland, and the United Kingdom in times of COVID-19. Economic and Social Reports, 2(3), pp.1-5. Available at: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10147442/1/00003-eng.pdf
Garga, M. and Kumarb, P., (2023). Social Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Development: A Bibliometric Analysis.
Gigauri, I. and Damenia, N., (2020). Cooperation between social entrepreneurs and government to develop solutions to social problems. Business and Economic Research, 10(3), pp.116-136.
Hardina, D., (2021). Strategies for citizen participation and empowerment in non-profit, community-based organizations. In 50 Years of Community Development Vol II (pp. 170-183). Routledge. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/W-Keating-2/publication/247529091_The_Long-Term_Impact_of_CDCs_on_Urban_Neighborhoods_Case_Studies_of_Cleveland%27s_Broadway-Slavic_Village_and_Tremont_Neighborhoods/links/00b7d537c9df629472000000/The-Long-Term-Impact-of-CDCs-on-Urban-Neighborhoods-Case-Studies-of-Clevelands-Broadway-Slavic-Village-and-Tremont-Neighborhoods.pdf#page=10
Herutomo, A., Dhewanto, W. and Prasetio, E.A., (2022), September. Social Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Development Goals: A Conceptual Framework. In European Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Vol. 17, No. 1, pp. 275-283). Available at: https://papers.academic-conferences.org/index.php/ecie/article/download/505/651
Lambovska, M., Sardinha, B. and Belas Jr, J., (2021). Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on youth unemployment in the European Union. Ekonomicko-manazerske spektrum, 15(1), pp.55-63. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Maya-Lambovska/publication/352477547_Impact_of_the_Covid-19_pandemic_on_youth_unemployment_in_the_European_Union/links/60caec1ca6fdcc01d47ab9ea/Impact-of-the-Covid-19-pandemic-on-youth-unemployment-in-the-European-Union.pdf
Lo, P., Allard, B., Anghelescu, H.G., Xin, Y., Chiu, D.K. and Stark, A.J., (2020). Transformational leadership practice in the world’s leading academic libraries. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 52(4), pp.972-999. Available at: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0961000619897991
Matraeva, A.D., Rybakova, M.V., Vinichenko, M.V., Oseev, A.A. and Ljapunova, N.V., (2020). Development of creativity of students in higher educational institutions: Assessment of students and experts. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 8(1), pp.8-16.
McLennan, M., (2021). The Global Risks Report 2021 16th Edition. Cologny, Switzerland: World Economic Forum. Available at: https://www.qbusiness.pl/uploads/Raporty/globalrisk2021.pdf
Molecke, G. and Pinkse, J., (2020). Justifying social impact as a form of impression management: Legitimacy judgements of social enterprises’ impact accounts. British Journal of Management, 31(2), pp.387-402. Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1467-8551.12397
Moshtari, M. and Vanpoucke, E., (2021). Building successful NGO–business relationships: A social capital perspective. Journal of Supply Chain Management, 57(3), pp.104-129. Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/jscm.12243
Nanda, S., Jain, V. and Purohit, A., (2023). The Importance of Mental Development in Addressing Youth Unemployment: A Psychological Case Study of Skill Retention in Development Programmes. Journal for ReAttach Therapy and Developmental Diversities, 6(7s), pp.108-118. Available at: https://jrtdd.com/index.php/journal/article/download/774/540
Reficco, E., Layrisse, F. and Barrios, A., (2021). From donation-based NPO to social enterprise: A journey of transformation through business-model innovation. Journal of Business Research, 125, pp.720-732. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0148296320300436
Rosca, E., Agarwal, N. and Brem, A., (2020). Women entrepreneurs as agents of change: A comparative analysis of social entrepreneurship processes in emerging markets. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 157, p.120067. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0040162518318900
Scerri, M., Presbury, R. and Goh, E., (2020). An application of the mentoring framework to investigate the effectiveness of mentoring programs between industry mentors and student mentees in hospitality. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 45, pp.143-151. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1447677020301972
Sukumar, A., Jafari-Sadeghi, V., Garcia-Perez, A. and Dutta, D.K., (2020). The potential link between corporate innovations and corporate competitiveness: evidence from IT firms in the UK. Journal of Knowledge Management, 24(5), pp.965-983. Available at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JKM-10-2019-0590/full/html
Tamesberger, D. and Bacher, J., (2020). COVID-19 crisis: How to avoid a ‘lost generation’. Intereconomics, 55, pp.232-238. Available at: https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10272-020-0908-y.pdf
Villegas-Mateos, A. and Vázquez-Maguirre, M., (2020). Social entrepreneurial ecosystems: A regional perspective of Mexico. International Journal of Entrepreneurship, 24(1), pp.1-19. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sophie-Bacq/publication/360426893_Communities_at_the_Nexus_of_Entrepreneurship_and_Societal_Impact_A_Cross-Disciplinary_Literature_Review/links/627569ef973bbb29cc67b9de/Communities-at-the-Nexus-of-Entrepreneurship-and-Societal-Impact-A-Cross-Disciplinary-Literature-Review.pdf
Weerakoon, C., (2021). A decade of research published in the journal of social entrepreneurship: a review and a research agenda. Journal of Social Entrepreneurship, pp.1-23.
