Vocational and Educational Strategies of SVE Students (Based on a Survey in the Murmansk Oblast)

In recent years, rather contradictory trends have emerged in the Russian education system, which attract the attention of the expert community. Since 2010, there has been an increase in the number of graduates of 9-11 grades, who increasingly choose to study in the system of sec-

* © Nedoseka E.V., Sharova E.N., 2022

ondary vocational education [1, Maltseva V.A., Shabalin A.I.]. According to the Minister of Education of the Russian Federation Kravtsov S.S., in the early 2000s, about 10–12% went to colleges, since 2015, this number is at least 60% 1. Statistics show that every second student today prefers studying in institutions of secondary vocational education (SVE) and obtaining a working specialty rather than passing the final exam [2, Proshkova Z.V.]. The main reasons for this trend, which is controversial, are revealed through the prism of understanding the motivation for choosing SVE by young people.

This trend, on the one hand, is interpreted as positive and reflects the growth in the prestige of professions that guarantee employment and demand for workers, which in turn is interpreted at the state level as a manifestation of economic growth 2. On the other hand, in the sociological literature, a whole range of social problems and their consequences are distinguished, which rather indicate the aggravation of social inequality, rather than the increasing prestige of working professions [3, Alexandrov D.A. et al.; 4, Kosyakova Yu. et al.; 5, Bessudov A.R. et al.; 6, Abankina I.V., Abankina T.V.; 7, Malinovsky S.S., Shibanova E.Yu.]. This argument is strengthened by the conclusions of studies that record the predominant value of higher education in the professional and educational preferences of schoolchildren [8, Konstantinovskiy D.L., Popova E.S.; 9, Cherednichenko G.A.]. The works of sociologists analyze the motives for choosing SVE institutions, among which the predominant ones are: fear of passing the USE, high probability of entering a state-funded place, opportunity to get a profession, simplified way to get into a university (since 2015, the situation has changed and admission to a university is possible only after passing the USE or specialized subjects at the discretion of the educational institution), etc. [2, Proshkova Z.V.; 10, Lomteva E.V.]. The trajectories of graduates of 9 and 11 grades choosing SVE are analyzed [6, Abankina I.V., Abankina T.V.; 11, Maltseva V.A. et al.]. Speaking about the connection of education and the labor market, G.A. Cherednichenko notes that young personnel with a secondary education are rated lower by employers, receive a lower salary than those who have a higher education diploma [12, Cherednichenko G.A.; 13, Zubok Yu.A., Chuprov V.I.].

The accumulated experience of research in this trend allows us to identify two groups of reasons for this contradiction: the first group, which focuses on institutional constraints of the education system, thereby indicating the problems associated with its reforming; the second group, which deals with the specifics of social behavior of young people, defining the special role of family, school, environment and other agents of socialization in the formation of educational strategies [14, Konstantinovskiy D.L.].

At the same time, the coverage of youth by SVE programs continues to grow steadily, as well as the recognized need of the economy for specialists with secondary vocational education.

The mass character of this flow suggests that it consists of those who were forced into it due to the economic situation and circumstances, and those who chose the SVE on the basis of personal preferences, assessment of the resources required for education and the situation on the labor market [15, Konstantinovskiy D.L., Popova E.S.].

The focus of this article is on the study of professional and educational strategies of SVE students, which are formed under the influence of the values prevailing in the consciousness. The object of the study is graduate students in the system of secondary vocational education in the Murmansk Oblast. The emphasis on graduates is due to the fact that this group of students is the closest to the situation of choice between entering the labor market and continuing education. At the same time, this is a period of time when the search and definition of strategies for the further life path is actualized.

Attention to a particular region is associated with the already existing experience in researching the educational and professional strategies of the youth of the Murmansk Oblast [16, Sharova E.N., Nedoseka E.V.; 17, Nedoseka E.V., Sharova E.N.]; secondly, this study complements the existing scientific and empirical groundwork for the study of professional and educational strategies of the youth of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation [18, Dregalo A.A., Ulyanovsky V.I.; 19, Vasilyeva O.V., Maklashova E.G.; 20, Galimullin E.Z.]; thirdly, the studied subject is included in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation, which is regulated by a number of documents 3, focusing on the staffing needs of the region, where the demand for specialists, including those with secondary vocational education, is indicated.

The system of secondary vocational education in the Murmansk Oblast and staffing needs of the region

The SVE system in the Murmansk Oblast in 2021 is represented by 26 institutions, including 23 vocational educational organizations (including 20 state, 3 non-state) and 3 universities implementing vocational education programs.

As of 10.01.2021, 18.2 thousand students studied in the region in 123 vocational programs. Enrollment in 2021 amounted to more than 5.6 thousand people, including almost 4.1 thousand people at the expense of the regional and federal budget. Graduation in 2021 was about 3.7 thousand people. Expected graduation in 2022 was over 4.5 thousand people 4.

Table 1

Number of students in secondary vocational education in Murmansk Oblast ⁵

Number of students enrolled in training pro-				Number of students enrolled in training pro-
grams for mid-level specialists				grams for skilled workers, employees
2005/	2020/	2005/	2020/	2005/	2020/	2005/	2020/
2006	2021	2006	2021	2006	2021	2006	2021
thousand people		for 10 thousand		thousand people		for 10 thousand
13.1	14.8	152	202	10.2	3.3	n. d.	45

Table 1 shows the dynamics of the number of students in the secondary vocational education system of the Murmansk Oblast over the past 15 years. As for the number of students enrolled in secondary vocational training programs, there is an increase by 13%, as for the number of students enrolled in skilled workers and office workers training programs, there is a decrease by 68%. The reasons for this situation is in infrastructural shifts, resource and personnel contraction of the region’s economy, taking place in the context of transformational changes in Russian society as a whole.

The reduction in the number of skilled workers and employees affects the needs of the modern labor market in the region. Thus, the employment center service regularly publishes vacancies in the public domain, most of which concern workers with secondary vocational education 6. In addition to the “traditionally” scarce jobs, the Murmansk Oblast also has an updated demand for personnel within the framework of the projects being implemented for the development of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation.

In particular, one of the key investment projects in the region is the LNG Construction Center in the village of Belokamenka, whose main economic activity is construction. The staff requirement of this enterprise for the period from 2020 to 2035 is estimated at 15 thousand employees. Traditionally, the key project for the region is Apatit JSC, which specializes in the extraction of minerals, the staffing requirement of which in the comparable period amounted to 570 people.

It is important to note that a significant economic potential for both the Murmansk Oblast and the Arctic as a whole is the development of the Northern Sea Route (NSR). The presence of a strategically important port determined the fate of the region throughout its history. Both secondary and higher education institutions, aimed at industrial communication with maritime enterprises, are becoming even more important in modern conditions. In the future, shipbuilders, ship repairmen, navigators, electromechanics, sailors, etc. will remain the key specialties of SVE for the NSR.

According to the estimates of the Agency for the development of human capital in the Far East and the Arctic, the total staffing needs in the Murmansk Oblast in 2024 will be 345.5 thousand people, in 2035 — 346.4 thousand people.

The region’s staffing demand in 2021 is shown in Table 2.

Table 2

Number of personnel with secondary vocational education required for the region by type of economic activity, 2021 ⁷.

Personnel need for mid-level specialists by type of economic activity	Quantity	Personnel need for workers by type of economic activity	Quantity
Nursing	372	Seller, controller, cashier	545
Pre-school education	285	Auto mechanic	250
Economics and accounting (by industry)	184	Cook, confectioner	184
Fire safety	136	Operator in non-ferrous metal production	170
Analytical quality control of chemical compounds	120	Engineer for construction and installation works	149
Installation and technical maintenance of industrial equipment	116	Welder (electric and gas welding and welding works)	103
Transport service	103	Master of housing and communal services	106
Heat supply and heat engineering equipment	99	Locomotive driver	104
Thermal power stations	80	Firefighter	93
Organization of transportation and transport management	67	Docker mechanic	93
Hotel service	59	Mineral enrichment technician	85

According to hh.ru experts, who regularly assess the most demanded professions in the regions, the “top 10” needs of employers in the Murmansk Oblast in 2021 concerned specialists in the areas of Marketing, Advertising, PR, Extraction of raw materials, Administrative strategic personnel, Banks, investments, leasing, Science, education, Beginning of a career, students, Transport, logistics, Tourism, hotels, restaurants, Personnel management, trainings and Account-

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ing, management accounting, enterprise finance 8. It can be concluded that a number of areas in demand are associated with vacancies for specialists with secondary vocational education.

At the same time, the key problems are the existence of industrial relations between employers and educational institutions; the quality of training programs for specialists and workers with secondary vocational education that meets the requirements of the digital economy and modernized industries; compliance with the social expectations of young students, etc.

Problem statement

The effectiveness of the education system of a particular region largely determines the success of its development indicators. The educational potential of territories influences the formation of a certain set of values and ideas about opportunities for self-realization in the region, from which young people’s life strategies are further constructed. Despite the recognized shortage of personnel with secondary vocational education in the conditions of the regional labor market and state support for the SVE system, the key question is how effectively the system itself, with its existing educational programs, copes with new challenges, dictated by the needs of regional economy in personnel with the required competences for the employer. A possible answer to this question is the analysis of professional and educational strategies of graduates of secondary vocational education, reflecting certain prevailing values. These are either the values of selfexpression, manifested in the strategies of searching for opportunities and readiness to realize themselves, or the values of survival, adaptation, which are characterized by strategies of passivity and uncertainty. The predominance of certain values can be an indicator of regional development. Thus, if the population acts as a bearer of survival values, this indicates the stagnation and depressive state of the region, the absence or lack of opportunities for self-realization. However, this is a time of self-diagnosis and professional self-assessment, indicating the validity and lacunae of the existing professional training and the need to search for further educational opportunities.

The main purpose of this research is to study the educational and professional strategies of vocational graduates formed on the basis of certain values in a particular region (Murmansk Oblast).

Theoretical and methodological framework

Young people’s perceptions of proper conditions and opportunities for self-realization are a reflection of social reality in their minds. Based on M. Heidegger’s ideas about social reality as something that exists only in the minds of subjects, we believe that young people directly perceive that part of objective reality about which they have their own knowledge. Within the framework of this reality, they construct their own one [21, Berger P., Lukman T.], adapting the changing real- ity to the realization of their goals and needs. Social action itself proceeds from the value orientations prevailing in consciousness [22, Inglehart R.], on the basis of which life strategies are formed, including educational and professional ones.

According to R. Inglehart’s theory, the predominance of self-expression values (postmaterialist values) in the youth environment is an indicator of the formation of progress society [23, Hofstede G.], focused on strengthening personal independence, expanding freedom of choice [24, Inglehart R. et al.], including an integral element in the formation of a creative class [25, Mel-lander C. et al.]. Personal independence can be defined as financial independence or desire to achieve it (for example, through combining work and study), and freedom of choice is interpreted as freedom in decision-making, regardless of agents of influence. Both are associated with the sustainable formation of self-expression values [26, Garmonova A.V. et al.]. Survival values (materialistic values) come from the prevailing uncertainty, dependent choice, passivity. According to R. Inglehart, survival values are manifested in the desire for material goods, security, humility, desire to stay in a stride, promoted by low self-esteem and conformity [24].

Studies of professional and educational strategies have a scientific tradition in Russian sociology and are represented by works that have already become classics, Yu.A. Zubok, V.I. Chuprov [27; 28], V.T. Lisovskiy [29], D.L. Konstantinovskiy [30], Yu.R. Vishnevskiy [31–33]. These authors focused on the dependence of professional and educational orientations on such factors that form the basis of social stratification: social status of parents, place of residence and resources.

The educational and professional attitudes of students of secondary vocational education are reflected in the works of A.T. Gasparishvili and co-authors, who studied satisfaction with the quality of education received and training in the chosen specialty [34]. I.G. Dezhina and G.A. Klyu-charev, who studied the peculiarities of students’ motivation to receive secondary education and identified the most popular professions that students choose, paid special attention to corporate education as an analogue of SVE in the form of additional professional education [35]. Voloshina I.A. and Kozlova L.V. emphasized the tactics of job search and career preferences of graduate students of secondary vocational education [36]. With regard to educational strategies, one of the most common conclusions in sociological research is the opinion about the prevailing trajectory of movement towards a university degree through secondary vocational education [3, Aleksandrov D.A. and etc.; 5, Bessudnov A.R. et al.; 37; 38, Dudyrev et al.].

In general, the authors who studied the educational and professional strategies of young people are similar in their conclusions about the discrepancy between Russian secondary education and the expectations of young people, they point to a poor connection between the SVE system and production structures, the real needs of the regions, etc.

In this study, educational and professional strategies are understood as future-oriented characteristics of consciousness and behavior of a person, performing value-oriented functions and manifesting in specific life situations related to the choice of goals and means of achieving them in education and profession [39, Sharova E.N., Nedoseka E.V.].

Research results

In order to identify and analyze the features of the vocational and educational attitudes of SVE students, a sociological study was conducted in April-May 2021, using the method of online questionnaires among full-time graduate students of educational institutions of secondary vocational education in the Murmansk Oblast.

The main objectives of the study included the analysis of the following components of professional and educational strategies: 1) educational plans of graduates and their attitude to continuing education; 2) employment plans after graduation from the educational institution and attitude to work in the field of study received; 3) labor value orientations of graduates. As an additional task, relevant in terms of the current demographic situation in the region, it was set to identify students’ attitudes towards studying in the region, including their migration plans.

It was assumed that the level of education before entering the vocational education institution (grades 9 or 11) and the level of qualification of the chosen areas of training (MLS or W&E) of students are significant distinguishing factors that determine the differences in the vocational educational strategies of graduates. However, when constructing two-dimensional distributions with Pearson’s chi-squared test, it was found that for most of the data, there are no statistically significant differences between the components of vocational and educational strategies with the level of education. At the same time, dependencies with the level of qualification of the selected areas of training (MLS or W&E) were identified. In addition, a cross-sectional analysis of educational groups by skill level showed that “ninth-graders” are relatively more oriented towards W&E training programs, while “eleventh-graders” overwhelmingly choose MLS training programs. Socio-demographic portraits of W&E and MLS students also have their own specifics: there are significantly more young men (51.6%) among W&E than among MLS (37.5%);

(9.1% of low-income groups among MLS). Thus, further analysis of vocational educational strategies was carried out in the context of qualification groups.

Educational plans of graduates and their attitude towards further education

Plans of graduates for employment after graduation and attitudes towards work in the received area of training

When it comes to the certainty of future employment, every second (54.6%) has several job options in mind, but without any guarantees. At the same time, among MLS students, there are relatively more of those who already know for sure where they will work (27.7% vs. 15.3%).

Labor value orientations of graduates

Attitude towards studying in the region and migration plans of SVE graduates

Among those who will continue to study, most plan to continue their education within the region (28.4%), almost as many intend to leave for St. Petersburg (26.9%). In total, 51.8% of all respondents plan to leave the region. Every fifth person found it difficult to answer (19.8%). The dependence of intention on qualification is not confirmed.

As for plans to leave the region, the following is observed: the vast majority of respondents (59.9%) plan to leave their settlement. For 33.9%, this is a practically resolved issue, 26.0% noted the alternative “more likely yes than no”. 21.0% of respondents found it difficult to answer. Less than 20% of respondents generally do not have such plans. The dependence of intention on qualification is not confirmed.

Conclusion

At the same time, according to the results of the survey, the research attention is focused on a significant number of respondents who have not defined their educational and professional plans. This circumstance generally signals the stability of materialistic values, or survival values, in the youth environment in the context of a particular regional society, which is a gap that the authors plan to study with the help of a qualitative research strategy, by means of a series of interviews and focus groups.

The Murmansk Oblast, on the one hand, is a space with prevailing “push” factors due to harsh natural and climatic and limited socio-economic conditions, on the other hand, it is a subject that is fully included in the Russian Arctic, a border region of strategic importance. An important conclusion of the study was made in the course of analyzing the orientation of SVE youth to the application of their professional and educational strategies within the Murmansk Oblast. Despite the region’s staffing needs outlined above, almost every second respondent plans to leave their place of residence to implement their life plans. It is noteworthy that every fourth graduate of