Employment plans for young professionals in the pandemic

The complicated epidemiological situation that emerged in 2020 has resulted in the unemployment increase in Russia, the emergence of difficulties while searching for a job relevant for the individual needs of university graduates. In this regard, it becomes a vital task to study the changes in employers’ requirements for university graduates in the new socio-economic situation. They are forced to compete in the labor market with experienced professionals who have lost their jobs due to staff reductions in many medium- and small-scale businesses or business winding up. There is a need for a prompt restructuring of education at universities in order to train specialists who are able to solve the tasks of overcoming the country’s pandemic consequences. At the end of 2020 in Sverdlovsk region, 580 university graduates in different majors; 80 employers representing large-, medium- and small-scale businesses as well as the system of general and vocational education, health, culture, municipal administration participated in the questionnaire survey. In-depth interviews were conducted with 23 university graduates and 14 employers from different enterprises and organizations. The authors analyzed 35 websites of large organizations providing vacancies for young professionals and 23 websites of small- and medium-sized scale businesses. The study of life plans of university graduates showed that those striving to find a major-based job are confident that the professional competencies acquired will allow them to quickly gain the necessary practical skills. Those looking for a job in a related major believe that developing self-education skills will allow them to learn a new profession. Exaggerated requirements for salary, career advancement, and working conditions dominate employment plans.