Studying the occupation insecurity as a prerequisite for the development of continuous education

The article attempts to consider technologically conditioned changes in the world of professions (phenomenon of occupation insecurity) as a prerequisite for the development of continuous education. The goal is to identify social groups that experience the occupation insecurity and there-fore can be potential participants in continuous education. Data were collected in 2024, the study sample consisted of 577 people, of which 48 % were men; the average age was 33 years (min 20 years, max 50 years); 55 % have higher education. The age structure of the sample included 239 young workers (graduates of vocational educational institutions, 20‒26 years old) and 338 mature workers (35‒50 years old). Professional affiliation was determined using the classifier of E. A. Klimov. The methodology «Occupation Insecurity Scale» adapted to Russian was used, which measures anxiety about the future of the profession and the expectation of changes in the profession due to the spread and implementation of new technologies. It was found that most workers have a low estimate of the probability of losing their professions due to new technologies. Young graduates of vocational educational institutions expect changes in their professions to a greater extent than mature workers, this is especially true for young representatives of the Person–Sign professions. Workers who are 40 years old and older have significantly lower expectations of changes in the profession. These characteristics of workers can affect their involvement in continuing education. The use of a new concept and the corresponding methodology made it possible to obtain important empirical results: social groups that are most worried about the possible loss of their professions or expect meaningful changes in the profession were identified. They can be considered as potential subjects of continuing education and users of special educational products related to the technological renewal of professions. Areas of practical use of the results are proposed.