Vocational and Educational Attitudes of Young People in the Context of the Migration Outflow of the Population of the Arctic Territories (on the Example of the Murmansk Oblast)

The Arctic zone of the Russian Federation is one of the priorities of the national and foreign policy. This provision is reflected in such regulatory documents as the “Strategy for Developing the Russian Arctic Zone and Ensuring National Security until 2035” 1 and the Decree of the Govern-

ment of the Russian Federation of April 21, 2014 No. 366 “On Approval of the State Program of the Russian Federation “Social and Economic Development of the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation” 2. The Arctic zone of the Russian Federation (AZRF) today includes all the municipalities of the Murmansk Oblast, the Nenets, Chukotka and Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous okrugs (4 subjects), as well as some municipalities of the Arkhangelsk Oblast, the Republics of Komi, Karelia, Sakha (Yakutia), and also Krasnoyarsk Krai (5 subjects).

The economic attractiveness and geopolitical significance of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation remain the most important factors in the managerial vision of the region. The planned large-scale transformations require significant labour resources, the main source of which is the youth of the AZRF subjects. However, despite the actualization at all management levels of problems related to the development of the Russian Arctic territories, the population retention and the creation of optimal living conditions, the analysis of migration indicates a steady decline in the population in almost all AZRF regions.

The purpose of this article is to identify the professional and educational attitudes of young people in the conditions of an intensive migration outflow from the region.

Theoretical and methodological foundations

The study of vocational and educational attitudes is an important component of the process of monitoring the social well-being of young people, which makes it possible to track in dynamics the intensity of changes in plans and subjective assessments of the future, which is especially important in the context of regional development. Despite the existence of the problem of a “gap” between intentions and actions, the formation and severity of attitudes underlies intentions, which in turn are embodied in purposeful behavior. This fact has its own empirical evidence in the theory of planned behavior by I. Ajzen, according to which, the stronger the intention, the more likely it will be fulfilled [1].

The relevance of studying vocational and educational attitudes is also determined by the rapidity of changes taking place in the “fluid modernity” [2, Bauman Z.], which is characterized by the complexity of predictability and complete dependence on the personal choice. Moreover, an important factor was the coronavirus pandemic, which launched and intensified crisis processes in all spheres of society. The pandemic has led to a more pronounced change in the logic of the reproduction of the social structure. The availability of favorable conditions of remoteness (while maintaining a wage and/or a workplace) has become a new type of social inequality. An example of this is the increasing centrifugal tendency, as shown by the explosion in demand for housing in the province. This circumstance was confirmed in the statistical indicators of internal migration for 2020, which will be analyzed below. In this context, the opportunities and potential of remote regions become key factors in the sustainable development of territories in general. Creating optimal conditions that meet the needs of young people in terms of vocational and educational selfrealization is a key expectation and a guarantee of the resilience of provincial subjects.

Studies of the professional and educational attitudes of young people have a certain tradition and accumulated scientific groundwork. The influence of social stratification on educational attitudes, the dependence of professional orientations on parental status, place of residence and resources are presented in the works of Yu.A. Zubok, V.I. Chuprov [3, 4], V.T. Lisovskiy [5], D.L. Konstantinovskiy [6], Yu.R. Vishnevskiy [7, 8, 9].

Educational attitudes as an element of life strategies were touched upon in the works of N.D. Sorokina [10, 11], S.G. Kosaretskiy [12], U.V. Trokhirova [13], M.A. Yadova [14, 15]. The authors studied the educational and professional strategies of young people in the context of innovative requests and came to conclusions about the discrepancy between Russian education and the expectations of young people. An important research result was the statement of the lack of equal opportunities for the accessibility of education in terms of social property and territorial factors.

From the authors’ point of view, it is important to take into account regional specifics that contain conditions for the socialization of young people in order to deeply understand the mechanisms of implementation of these or those attitudes. In this vein, the works of A.A. Dregalo, V.I. Ulyanovskiy [16] deserve special attention, analyzing the educational, cultural, political and professional attitudes of the youth of the Arkhangelsk Oblast; A.S. Konstantinov [17], E.Z. Galimullin [18], Vasilyeva O.V. [19] explore the migration trends of young people in the Arctic zone; O.V. Osipova [20] touches upon various aspects of the social well-being of young people in general.

Results

Returning to the research problem, it is necessary to focus on migration processes in the Russian Arctic as factors that can influence the vocational and educational attitudes of young people. Migration characteristics in the Arctic region have their own features.

Table 1

Dynamics of migration growth in the AZRF subjects from 2015 to 2020 (people, indicator value per year) 3

AZRF subjects	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
Republic of Karelia	-734	-1 008	-1 916	-1 320	-708	7
Komi Republic	-8 738	-6 932	-9 470	-9 276	-7 789	-3 324
Arkhangelsk Oblast (except for the Nenets Autonomous	-8 119	-6 266	-7 814	-6 701	-3 069	-2 183

3 Source: Calculated by the authors based on data from the Federal State Statistics Service. URL: (accessed 30 June 2021).

Okrug)
Nenets Autonomous Okrug (Arkhangelsk Oblast)	101	-320	-231	-392	77	129
Murmansk Oblast	-4 384	-4 343	-3 503	-4 402	-4 863	-4 459
Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug	-11 972	-3 491	-2 418	-1 735	-1 318	-1 071
Krasnoyarsk Krai	2 753	4 828	929	-278	-2 778	1 842
The Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)	-5 387	-4 153	-4 649	-2 940	-229	6 065
Chukotka Autonomous Okrug	-589	-516	-656	237	554	-760

The data in Table 1 draw attention to the indicators of migration growth (loss) for 2020, which state a sharp decrease in the outflow of the population to the Russian Arctic. Among the regions, the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) became the leader in terms of migration growth: +6.5 thousand people. Krasnoyarsk Territory is in second place, with an increase of +1.8 thousand people in 2020 from a sharp loss in 2019. In third place in terms of migration growth are the Nenets Autonomous Okrug (+129) and the Republic of Karelia (+7) — the subjects went from absolute negative values of decrease to increase. The only subject with a stable migration outflow since 2015 is the Murmansk Oblast, where the negative migration balance is recorded in 2020. This region is the clear leader in the Russian Arctic in terms of migration losses. The Chukotka Autonomous Okrug is in the second place: for the first time in three years (+237 people in 2018), the migration growth turned into an intensive decline (-760 people in 2020). Arkhangelsk Oblast and the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug are in third place; in these subjects, a reduction in migration loss is planned, but the trend of population loss is still very stable. Of course, changes in migration flows were largely determined by the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, which significantly affected this process.

Table 2

Dynamics of migration growth in the AZRF subjects by main age groups of migrants from 2015 to 2020 (people, indicator value per year) 4

AZRF subjects	under working age		working age		over working age
	2015	2020	2015	2020	2015	2020
Republic of Karelia	-4	61	-1 005	25	275	-79
Komi Republic	-1028	-411	-6 026	-1 802	-1 684	-1 111
Arkhangelsk Oblast (except for the Nenets Autonomous Okrug)	-1229	-559	-5 700	-935	-1 190	-689
Nenets Autonomous Okrug (Arkhangelsk Oblast)	57	-4	80	89	-36	44
Murmansk Oblast	587	-667	-2 606	-2 196	-2 365	-1 596
Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug	154	638	-9 233	-796	-2 893	-913
Krasnoyarsk Krai	331	824	2 725	948	-303	70
The Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)	-589	607	-3 321	5 985	-1 477	-527

4 Source: Calculated by the authors based on data from the Federal State Statistics Service. URL: (accessed 30 June 2021).

Chukotka Autonomous Okrug	-17	-43	-310	-528	-262	-189
TOTAL	-1738	446	-25 396	790	-9 935	-4 990

Table 2 presents an analysis of migration gain (loss) in the structure by age groups. It is important to note that the trend in almost all subjects is associated with the outflow of the population over working age (with the exception of the Krasnoyarsk Krai). There are also subjects, where significant losses are due to working age: Murmansk Oblast, Komi Republic, Arkhangelsk Oblast, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. The trend of losses in the subgroup below working age in the Murmansk Oblast and Chukotka Autonomous Okrug since 2015 is also noteworthy.

From the authors’ point of view, a significant contribution to understanding the causes of migration is made by the analysis of indicators of the state of the vocational training sector in the region. The educational potential of the residence territories and related employment prospects are priority factors in building the life strategies of young people in general. The number of students of universities and colleges by AZRF subjects (data for 2005–2020) is presented in tables 3 and 4.

Table 3

The number of students in higher educational institutions by the AZRF subjects 5

AZRF subjects	2005/ 2006	2019/ 2020	2005/ 2006	2019/ 2020	2005/ 2006	2019/ 2020	2005/ 2006	2019/ 2020
	thous. people		per 10 thous.		RF rating		AZRF rating 6
Republic of Karelia	24.1	10.9	346	178	61	63	6	4
Komi Republic	35.8	14.6	363	179	57	62	5	3
Arkhangelsk Oblast (except for the Nenets Autonomous Okrug)	47.7	17.7	369	156	52	68	4	5
Nenets Autonomous Okrug (Arkhangelsk Oblast)	0.3	-	77	-	84	85	9	9
Murmansk Oblast	39.0	7.0	461	94	30	81	2	6
Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug	14.7	0.6	277	10	73	84	7	8
Krasnoyarsk Krai	132.0	68.7	454	240	32	39	3	2
The Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)	46.8	23.8	492	245	21	35	1	1
Chukotka Autonomous Okrug	0	0.1	0	27	-	83	8	7

During the period from 2005 to 2019, the greatest losses were incurred by the YaNAO (almost 24.5 times — from 14.7 to 0.6 thousand people) and the Murmansk Oblast (almost 5.6 times — from 39.0 to 7.0 thousand people). Data for all AZRF subjects correlate with the all-Russian trend of an almost two-fold decrease in the number of university students both in absolute terms (total in thousand people) and in relation to the total population (per 10 thousand people). Certainly, this dynamics was also influenced by the general demographic situation due to the decline in the birth rate of the 1990s. [21, Nedoseka E.V., Sharova E.N.].

The intensive migration outflow of the population indicates that there is a “washout” of the intellectual potential of the population in the Arctic region as a result of a powerful flow of educational emigration.

Table 4

The number of students in secondary vocational education institutions by the AZRF subjects 7

AZRF subjects	number of students enrolled in specialist training programmes of mid-level				number of students enrolled in skilled worker training programmes
	2005/ 2006	2019/ 2020	2005/ 2006	2019/ 2020	2005/ 2006	2019/ 2020	2005/ 2006	2019/ 2020
	thous. people		per 10 thous.		Thous .people		per 10 thous.
Republic of Karelia	14.0	11.2	200	182	8.3	2.6	NA	43
Komi Republic	15.7	15.2	160	175	17.5	4.6	NA	56
Arkhangelsk Oblast	25.3	19.6	177	171	22.1	8.1	NA	71
Nenets Autonomous Okrug	0.9	0.9	205	203	0.5	0.3	NA	61
Murmansk Oblast	13.1	14.0	152	189	10.2	3.1	NA	42
Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug	4.6	8.3	87	152	3.6	1.8	NA	33
Krasnoyarsk Krai	61.5	55.4	160	193	34.7	14.6	NA	51
The Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)	17.4	20.7	183	213	7.0	5.6	NA	57
Chukotka Autonomous Okrug	0.7	0.7	143	149	0.8	0.1	NA	18
RF	2905.7	2576.2	105	176	703.0	543.4	NA	37

The situation is ambiguous in terms of the number of students in secondary vocational education in the regions. Thus, the reduction in the number of students is typical for the Arkhangelsk Oblast (-22.6%), the Republic of Karelia (-20%) and the Krasnoyarsk Krai (-10%). The increase in the number of students is typical for the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (+80%), the Republic of Yakutia (Sakha) (+19%) and the Murmansk Oblast (6.8%). Over the past 18 years, the situation has remained unchanged in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug.

Speaking in general about the system of vocational education in the territories of the AZRF subjects, it can be concluded that for 2020, higher education programs are not being trained in the territories of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, the Republic of Karelia, the Republic of Yakutia (Sakha). Training in the branches of universities with less than 50 people is carried out in the Komi Republic, the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug and the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. Predominantly vocational education is concentrated in the European part of the Russian Arctic, 16 out of 60 universities and 91 out of 306 colleges and branches located in the AZRF subjects operate in the Arctic territories (Table 5).

• ⁷ Regions of Russia. Socio-economic indicators. URL: https://rosstat.gov.ru/folder/210/document/13204 (accessed 30 June 2021).

Table 5

AZRF subjects	Number of higher education institutions (with branches)	Number of secondary education institutions (with branches)
Republic of Karelia	-	3
Komi Republic	2	8
Arkhangelsk Oblast	5	25
Nenets Autonomous Okrug	5	19
Murmansk Oblast	2	11
Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug	1	8
Krasnoyarsk Krai	-	4
The Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)	1	4

Distribution of universities and colleges in the Arctic territories of the AZRF subjects 8

Over the past 15 years, the following changes have occurred: admission to Arctic universities decreased by 3 times; the number of branches of universities decreased by 6 times (the admission to branches of universities decreased by 9 times). According to data provided by the Agency for the Development of Human Capital in the Far East and the Arctic, about 60% of school graduates can count on admission to vocational education institutions located in the Arctic regions 9. Thus, the limited opportunities for obtaining professional education within the AZRT subjects stimulate the outflow of young people from the designated territories.

An analysis of statistical indicators draws our research attention to the Murmansk Oblast, which suffered the most losses in terms of reducing the number of higher education institutions (from 32 units in 2007 to 5 units in 2020) and the number of university students (5.6 times from 2005 to 2020). Let us consider the migration situation in the Murmansk Oblast in comparison with other AZRF subjects (Table 6).

Migration growth rate (per 10 thousand people) by AZRF subjects, 2015–2020 10

Table 6

AZRF subjects	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
Republic of Karelia	-11.6	-16.0	-30.6	-21.2	-11.5	-0.8
Komi Republic	-101.5	-81.2	-111.9	-111.0	-94.4	-41.7
Arkhangelsk Oblast (except for the Nenets Autonomous Okrug)			-69.9	-60.6	-28	-22.7
Nenets Autonomous Okrug (Arkhangelsk Oblast)	23.1	-72.9	-52.5	-89.2	17.5	28.9
Murmansk Oblast	-57.3	-57.1	-46.3	-58.6	-65.3	-69.2
Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug	-222.9	-65.2	-45.0	-32.1	-24.3	-21.6
Krasnoyarsk Krai	9.6	16.8	3.2	-0.9	-9.7	5.4
The Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)	-56.2	-43.2	-48.2	-30.4	-2.4	61
Chukotka Autonomous Okrug	-116.9	-103.2	-132.3	47.8	110.9	-157.3

The data in Table 6 clearly demonstrate that the Murmansk Oblast is steadily losing population, this is especially noticeable in 2020, when most other AZRF regions (except Chukotka) are characterized by a decrease in the rate of decline and even growth. The significant migration inflow in 2018–2019 in Chukotka (+132.0%) is noteworthy: according to experts, the reason for the growth is related to the abolition of the border regime for the entry of Russian citizens. The Mur- mansk Oblast moved from the fourth place in 2015–2018 to the second place in 2019–2020 in terms of migration loss among the AZRF subjects.

Returning from the migration context to the vocational and educational potential of the

Murmansk Oblast, it can be noted that at present, training of specialists in vocational education is carried out by 5 organizations of higher education, 3 are state and municipal (87.8% of students) and 2 are private (12.2% of students). Real educational opportunities for applicants are limited to the 2 biggest and oldest state universities, which specialize in humanities and technical educa- tion

The reduction in the number of institutions of higher education has led to a reduction in the opportunities for choosing professions. An important fact is the annual reduction in the number of budget places allocated to universities for training personnel in the areas of bachelor's and master's programs, which also narrows the opportunities for both applicants and graduates to self-realization and runs counter to the declared plans of the Government of the Russian Federation and the Murmansk Oblast for training and staffing sectors of the region's economy. According to the Agency for Human Capital Development in the Far East and the Arctic, graduates of the vocational education system provide only 33% of the staffing needs of the economy of the Russian Arctic.

It should be noted that 20% of 11th grade students in the Murmansk Oblast’s vocational education system settle down (14.6% in higher education, and 5.3% in secondary vocational education), the remaining 80% (according to the results of a study in 2019) do not enter the system of vocational education in the Oblast in the year of graduation 12.

Training in universities in the Murmansk Oblast is mainly conducted in the following areas: engineering, technology and technical sciences — 39.8%; social sciences — 23.1%; education and pedagogical sciences — 19.0%; mathematical and natural sciences — 10.0%; humanities — 4.0%, etc.

Summarizing the statistical data, let us focus on the factors, determining movement of population in general, and the intentions of young people in particular in the AZRF subjects. Along with objectively existing macro-factors associated with the natural and climatic features of the Arctic region, mesolevel factors play an increasingly important role in building life strategies of young people in the AZRF:

• •    Socio-economic. This group of factors is closely related to the peculiarities of the industrial development of the Arctic. The production binding of the Arctic regions to a limited number of industrial enterprises remains a serious problem, the consequence of which is low diversification of employment [23, Leksin V.N., Porfiriev B.N.]. With regard to the Murmansk Oblast, this link remains relevant and continues to be assigned to the territory at the level of official documents, for example, the Strategy for the Spatial Development of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2025, where spheres of perspective effective economic specialization are mainly designated as branches of industrial production ¹³. In addition, a factor of a socio-economic nature that determines the outflow of the population is the once attractive feature in the form of financial advantages in the wages of residents of the Far North. At present, this financial advantage has actually lost its attractive migration force, primarily due to an insignificant or actually equalizing ratio (depending on employment areas) with other regions of Russia [22, Volgin L.A., Shirokova N.L., Mosina L.L.].

• •    Socio-structural. Interregional differentiation in the socio-economic development of the territories of the Russian Federation led to systemic shifts that gave rise to relationships between the center and regions on the principle of “center — periphery”. In this sense, the remoteness of the Arctic regions is associated with the main characteristics of the periphery, such as backwardness and stagnation, which initially sets the direction in the life planning of young people to find the best place for self-realization [18, Galimullin E.Z.; 21, Nedoseka E.V.; 23, Sharova E.N.].

• •    Socio-cultural. This group of factors is closely related to the historical features of the development of the Arctic zone. With the advent of Soviet power at the beginning of the 20th century, the studied territories were developed mainly through forced migration. Later, starting from the second half of the 20th century, the attractiveness of the North was associated with material wealth due to various kinds of financial incentives for working conditions in difficult climatic conditions. Low rootedness and weak regional identity were and are distinctive features of the majority of the population of the Arctic

regions (of course, excluding the ethnic minority of the indigenous peoples of the North) [18, Galimullin E.Z.; 24, Nedoseka E.V., Anufrieva T.V.; 25, Sharova E.N.].

The indicated groups of factors have a significant impact on the process of building professional and educational attitudes, which is especially characteristic of young people, who are considered as the main resource for large-scale transformations in the Arctic region. The specificity of various youth groups is determined by the specific conditions of socialization and opportunities for self-realization in a particular local community (country, region, locality). In other words, the place of residence of young people is an important differentiating and stratifying factor that creates the external (objective) framework of life plans.

Let us turn to some results of an empirical sociological study conducted in April–May 2021 in the Murmansk Oblast using an online survey among the graduates of secondary general educational organizations (523 people), secondary vocational (519 people) and higher education (bachelor's level) ( 283 people). The focus of research attention was on the vocational, educational and migration attitudes of the studying youth of the region 14.

A single questionnaire was designed for all three groups of graduates, which also included specific questions depending on the level of education (general secondary, vocational secondary, higher education). The presence of common questions made it possible to compare the life attitudes of young people. At the same time, it is quite obvious that the attitudes of school graduates who do not yet have a special education and are faced with the choice of a profession (a direction of training) possessed the greatest distinctive ability.

Despite the growing demand for the secondary vocational education system, the vast majority of 11th grade students are still oriented towards higher education (79.3%). The choice in favour of secondary vocational training was made by no more than 5% of the respondents, every tenth one has not yet fully decided whether it is a university or a college. In comparison with the results of previous studies of school graduates in the Murmansk Oblast, there was a slight decrease in interest in higher education: for example, in 2009, 84.5% of 11th grade students planned to enter universities, in 2005 — 92% [26, Sharova E.N., Mulina T.V., p. 55].

The educational plans of graduates of institutions of secondary vocational and higher education (hereinafter referred to as SVE and HE, respectively) are characterized by greater uncertainty (40–42% found it difficult to answer the question). At the same time, every fourth or fifth respondent who completes professional training is oriented to get higher education in the future (university graduates plan to continue their education in the master's program). 16–17% of SVE and HE graduates plan to implement horizontal educational trajectories within the framework of the already achieved level (i.e., receive additional qualifications in courses, etc., or master another profession / field of study at a college / university).

In general, the above results indicate a fairly high educational demand of graduates of all levels. A certain problem is the region's ability to satisfy this request and subjective assessments of these opportunities. In this regard, graduates who intend to study further were asked about the location of the priority educational institution. Only 15.5% of school graduates, 28.9% of college graduates, and 30.0% of university graduates made their choice within the region (Table 7). Schoolchildren form the main flow of educational migration, most of them intend to study in St. Petersburg, as well as in other regions of the Russian Federation: almost 80% prioritize education outside the Murmansk Oblast, 74.2% of respondents do not even consider it as a possibility (including alternate) option. The most important criteria when choosing an educational institution for students are the availability of the required area of study (62.4%) and budget places (60.4%); the second most popular are a real opportunity to enrol (46.5%) and high chances of employment after graduation (44.9%).

Comparatively more respondents with specialized education (secondary or higher) wanted to continue their education in the Oblast, but at the same time more than a quarter viewed St. Petersburg as a priority destination, and every fifth found it difficult to give a definite answer.

Table 7 Distribution of respondents’ answers to the question: “Specify the location of your priority educational institution”, (closed, % of the number of respondents)

alternatives	schools	SVE	HE
within the region	15.5	28.9	30.0
Moscow	8.8	6.5	6.4
St. Petersburg	46.6	26.9	26.4
another region of the Russian Federation	21.6	10.9	14.5
other country	2.8	7.0	3.6
find it difficult to answer	4.8	19.9	19.1
Total	100.0	100.0	100.0

For graduates of colleges and universities, employment is a more pressing issue: 48.4% of college graduates and 60.1% of university graduates will look for work after graduation. At the same time, college graduates feel a little more confident in the labour market than university graduates: if among SVE students, one in five noted that there is no certainty with the future place of work (21.1%), then among the HE ones, more than a third do not know where to work (35.0%). The relative majority of college and university graduates (54.2% and 49.7%, respectively) have several employment options available, but without clear guarantees. 13.5% of SVE students and 18.1% of HE students are already working and are not going to change their place of work.

We suppose that the older the age group and the higher the educational level of young residents, the less developed are their migration attitudes: 84.7% of school graduates plan to leave the Murmansk Oblast after graduation (including 66.7% definitely intend to leave), 59.9% of SVE graduates (including 33.9% definitely intend to leave), 38.4% of HE graduates (including 19.2% definitely intend to leave).

It turns out that the attitude to receive education (mainly higher education) in the near future determines the migration potential. University graduates who have already implemented this goal are more oriented to work or look for a new job; relatively more often they plan to stay in the Oblast (31.4%). It should be noted that quite a lot of people among university students found it difficult to answer the question about their migration plans (30.3%), which, coupled with high uncertainty about the future place of work, indicates the potential for territorial mobility of this group as a whole.

The migration intentions of the studied group of young people are supported by the appropriate attitudes of the closest environment (relatives, friends, teachers, etc.), which actively support plans to move (the level of support averaged 4.3 points on a 5-point scale, where 5 means full support).

The average assessment of the attractiveness of life in the Murmansk Oblast (on a 5-point scale, where 5 is very attractive) on the whole corresponds to attitudes towards moving: the lowest value of this assessment is typical for school graduates (2.72 points), graduates of colleges (3.09 points) and universities (3.24 points).

Respondents were also asked to assess their satisfaction with certain aspects of the quality of life in the Oblast, which were considered as opportunities for self-realization. In general, school graduates are less satisfied with all the proposed aspects. The possibility of obtaining education in accordance with their needs is assessed at the average level by all graduates (from 3.00 to 3.61 points). At the same time, in the “rating” of the answers of school youth, this opportunity occupies one of the last places in terms of satisfaction among the eight proposed options, while for university youth — one of the first. It is assumed that schoolchildren initially have higher ambitions and expectations, planning to enter the country's central universities, and representatives of regional students, having remained to study in the region, generally demonstrate loyalty to the conditions that are created locally, although they do not give high marks. In dynamics, there was a decrease in the satisfaction of young people with the educational opportunities of the region: for example, in a 2013 study, the opportunity to get a good general secondary and vocational education was estimated at 3.9 and 3.8 points, respectively [cit. according to 27, Tsylev V.R., Sharova E.N., p. 136].

Table 8

Distribution of respondents’ answers to the question: “Assess on a 5-point scale how satisfied you are with the following opportunities for self-realization created in the region. Average value (from 1 — not at all satisfied to 5 — quite satisfied)”

alternatives	schools	SVE	HE
build a system of relationships, connections (friends, business)	3,79 (1)	3.91 (1)	3.97 (1)
meet a loved one and start a family	3.47 (2)	3.82 (2)	3.93 (2)
achieve the desired level of well-being	3.33 (3)	3.35 (6)	3.49 (4)

realize oneself in creative and sports activities	3.29 (4)	3.47 (3)	3.37 (6)
find an attractive job	3.12 (5)	3.41 (4)	3.41 (5)
get an education according to your needs	3.00 (6)	3.39 (5)	3.61 (3)
create and develop your own business	2.98 (7)	3.17 (7)	3.20 (7)
realize oneself in the public and political spheres	2.88 (8)	2.99 (8)	3.13 (8)

Thus, according to the results of the study, it is possible to draw some conclusions that are of practical importance for the further development of the region.

Despite the general decrease in the migration loss in the AZRF subjects, recorded by statistics in 2020, the established demographic trends have been preserved in the Murmansk Oblast. Currently, the region occupies a leading position in terms of migration losses of the population, especially of working age and younger, which is generally not typical for the northern territories. The traditional model of migration, associated primarily with the development of northern experience and retirement, is giving way to new life strategies.

In the Murmansk Oblast, the so-called “educational” migration, which is family-oriented, is becoming more and more common. It is typical to move with all family members immediately after the children receive a general secondary education in order to enter the country's central universities. The most popular destination for choosing both a place of residence and receiving further (mainly higher) education is the city of St. Petersburg.

This model of migration is reflected in the statistics (there is a decrease in the number of higher education institutions and students), as well as in the vocational education and migration attitudes of the youth of the Murmansk Oblast (especially relevant for school graduates). Graduates of secondary vocational and higher educational institutions are more rooted in the region, largely due to institutional involvement in the process of obtaining vocational education, as well as experience in a particular workplace (often in parallel with training). At the same time, these groups of young people are not devoid of indefinite migration plans, which requires greater attention from regional authorities in terms of managing the employment of young professionals.

The choice in favour of the scenario of sustainable development of the Murmansk Oblast determines the need to preserve and expand the human potential of the territory, investing in the system of professional education in the areas of training that are in demand in the region and meet the challenges of tomorrow.