Labor attitudes of graduates of higher and secondary specialized educational institutions of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic. Part 2

Atlaskirov Albert Ruslanovich ORCID: 0000-0002-4032-2106 PhD in Sociology Senior Scientific Associate, Kabardino-Balkarian Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences 360051, Russia, Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, Nalchik, Pushkin str., 18 atlaskirov.albert@yandex.ru Other publications by this author

Introduction. The problems associated with the training and retention of qualified personnel for the Russian economy have been actualized in connection with modern socio-economic and political upheavals in the world. In the context of the departure of a significant number of qualified youth ^[1] and the formation of a shortage of personnel in various sectors of the economy ^[2], discussions began to unfold in the socio-political space of the country on the formation of a comfortable working climate to retain young professionals. If for large megacities, such as Moscow and St. Petersburg, the severity of this problem is decreasing, due to the well-established and effectively working mechanism of "pumping out" the most active youth from the regions, then for such peripheral regions as Kabardino-Balkaria, the "leakage" of young specialists poses a serious danger in the formation of progressive socio-economic development. In this regard, the research of the labor attitudes of the younger generation is of particular importance.

The degree of development. There are a lot of studies devoted to the labor attitudes of young people in Russian sociology. The collapse of the USSR and the transition of modern Russia to market relations led to a change in the system of value orientations of the population of the country. The Soviet model of labor education was destroyed, and the motivation for work among young people began to be associated, first of all, with strategies for obtaining material prosperity and self-realization ^[3]. These processes are analyzed in the works of T. G. Evdokimova ^[4], E. V. Kornienko ^[5], V. V. Retivina ^[6], etc.

Yu. A. Zubok and V. I. Chuprov note that in Russia there is no connection between the labor market and the system of personnel training in educational institutions. In their opinion, universities "do not show interest in the work of graduates in their specialty, without having information about the real needs of the labor market and the necessary levers of control. It is not profitable for enterprises to train young specialists, it is easier for them to fill jobs with unattractive types of work" ^{[7, p. 121]}. At the same time, work in the specialty is a necessary condition for the completion of professional socialization started in an educational institution.

An important factor in the development of the economy in the XXI century and the transition to new technological structures is the human capital formed in educational institutions. G. A. Cherednichenko believes that the complex of external and internal challenges actualizes the problem of employment of graduates ^[8]. A.V. Popov and T. S. Solovyova, investigating the state of the labor potential of the population of the Vologda oblast, identified barriers, which, in the opinion of young people, hinder the realization of their potential: lack of professional knowledge, work outside the specialty, lack of interest in the chosen profession, etc. ^[9]. T. A. Pakina analyzing the labor behavior of university students in Nizhny Novgorod revealed that labor occupies a significant place in the system of basic values of the younger generation ^[10]. Also, various aspects of the formation of labor attitudes are considered in their works by domestic sociologists: M. K. Gorshkov, F. E. Sheregi ^[11], V. S. Magun ^[12], Yu. R. Vishnevsky ^[13] and others.

Specialists engaged in research on the labor market of Kabardino-Balkaria ^[14,15,16] note that there is an imbalance between departing and staying citizens in the republic, both by age and in educational terms: "firstly, a high outflow of young people (16-29 years old) and the productive population (20-49 years old) - more than 40% and 60%, respectively, leads to deformation in the age structure of the population. Secondly, as a result of the outflow of the most educated and capable part of the population and the influx of low–skilled and unskilled labor, there is a danger of accumulation of the poorly educated part of the youth and the unclaimed amount of foreign labor" ^{[14, p. 120]}. At the same time, it should be noted that the studies conducted by scientists of Kabardino-Balkaria poorly reflect the changes taking place in the labor market of the republic under the influence of the achievements of information technology progress.

Research methods. In May 2022, a questionnaire survey was conducted among graduates of certain training areas of higher (universities) and secondary specialized (colleges) educational institutions of the Kabardino-Balkar Republic. The main focus of the research was aimed at identifying the work attitudes of graduate students, students in the areas of training specialists for the IT industry: applied mathematics and computer science, computer science and computer engineering, information security, microelectronics, etc. Also, to conduct a comparative analysis, a survey was conducted among graduates of the socio-humanities (law, tourism, organization of work with youth and others) and agricultural training areas (agronomy, horticulture, technology of production and processing of agricultural products). In the course of the study, all full–time graduates of the above-mentioned areas of specialist training were interviewed - 240 people.

The main part. The first part of the data obtained during the study has already been published in a scientific journal ^[17]. It was revealed that Kabardino-Balkaria is characterized by the presence of a systemic problem in the process of training specialists for the economy of the region. Career guidance work is poorly organized, which does not meet the challenges of the time. The study showed that a significant part of respondents do not receive up-to-date information about potential directions of economic and labor market development, and school career guidance lessons do not arouse their interest ^{[17, p. 52]}. At the same time, it should be noted that effectively organized career guidance work can serve as one of the key drivers of socio-economic development of the republic. It was revealed that many respondents would prefer to engage in entrepreneurial activity and work for themselves, which, in our opinion, indicates a decrease in the importance of the paternalistic model of behavior among the youth of Kabardino-Balkaria. The largest share of those wishing to work in the received specialty was revealed among IT graduates, which is not an unexpected result in the conditions of modern digital transformation ^{[17, p. 53]}. 

         The practice of part-time work while studying is widespread among students. This phenomenon is relevant not only in the Russian socio-cultural space, but also in many other countries of the world. However, not all students can get a job that would correspond to their specialty, due to various reasons: lack of vacancies in the labor market, unwillingness to work in their specialty, low wages, etc. The results of the study show that students of Kabardino-Balkarian universities and colleges often do not work in their specialty (Fig. 1), which, in our opinion, can negatively affect the quality of specialist training. The diagram shows that the majority of graduate students of universities are already working, but only 29% of respondents work in their specialty in universities and only 3% in colleges of the republic.

Fig. 1. Are you currently working?

            Quite interesting data were shown by the results of a survey among IT graduates: only 9% noted that they work in their specialty (Table 1). However, these data should be treated with caution. During the clarifying questions, it turned out that most of the respondents did not work in their specialty, they were still employed in the IT field, but not fully corresponding to the field of training. For example, a student studying in the direction of Microelectronics decided by the 4th year that he was more interested in programming, etc. These data confirm the thesis outlined earlier ^{[17, p. 51]} that the labor market is changing quite actively under the influence of information and technological progress. A young person who has entered a sought-after and popular specialty may not find application in the labor market by the end of training, since the labor sphere has changed under the influence of innovations. These processes also concern the IT market. According to a number of experts, in the near future many IT specialists will have to retrain for other professions, since artificial intelligence will be able to independently perform many programming operations ^[18].

         The largest share of graduates already working in their specialty was identified among those who study in the areas of training specialists for agriculture – 38% (Table 1). This was expected, given the active development of the agricultural sector in Kabardino-Balkaria and, consequently, a large number of vacancies in the labor market. Despite the fact that the republic occupies the last place (50th position) in the rating of innovative agriculture prepared by Skolkovo and Rosselkhoznadzor specialists ^[19], gradually, modern achievements of science and technology will come to this sphere, which will transform the labor market. Given these circumstances, modern and effective career guidance work among the students of Kabardino-Balkaria is of great importance.

Table 1.

Table 1. Are you currently working?

The results of the study show that half of the respondents consciously chose their specialty (Fig. 2). Given that only 25% of the respondents made their choice thanks to the knowledge gained at career guidance events ^[17], it seems natural that 41% of university graduates and 29% of university graduates do not work in their specialty (Fig. 1). Thus, we get a situation of a systemic failure in the process of training personnel for the economy of the region. A significant proportion of students simply do not apply the knowledge they received during several years of study and, over time, lose the competencies acquired in an educational institution. The state simply loses huge amounts of money, which it directs to finance budget places at universities and secondary specialized educational institutions.

Fig. 2. Why did you choose the profession you went to study for? (no more than 2 options)

         In general, the situation in which a certain part of the youth, most often the most active and ambitious, leaves for other regions in order to try to realize their potential in a more favorable environment is the norm for society. Especially, these trends are characteristic in the "center-periphery" system, when young people from a depressed peripheral region leave for megacities, where more opportunities for self-realization are provided. However, if such labor migration begins to be massive, the prospects for sustainable development of the donor region of labor resources are at risk. The conducted research showed that 28% of respondents plan to go to work in other regions, another 26% found it difficult to answer (Fig. 3). The results are alarming, since the labor market of Kabardino-Balkaria, potentially, may lose significant labor resources.

         Table 2 shows that IT graduates are least inclined to look for work in their region - 36.3%. This is not surprising, given the level of demand, at the moment, for specialists of this profile in the labor market not only of our country, but also of the whole world. At the same time, it should be taken into account that widespread digitalization allows representatives of many professions to work remotely, which will also influence the dynamics of the transformation of the labor attitudes of young professionals. It seems that this circumstance deserves a separate scientific study.

Fig. 3. Are you going to find a job in your region after receiving your diploma?

Table 2.

Are you going to find a job in your region after graduation?

Among the preferred areas of labor migration, respondents, first of all, identified the largest cities in Russia: Moscow – 37% and St. Petersburg - 19% (Fig. 4). 14% plan to go abroad. It is obvious that the labor migration of educated young people to other countries has a negative impact on the dynamics of socio-economic development not only in Kabardino-Balkaria, but also in Russia as a whole. At the subsequent stages of the study, it is necessary to improve the survey methodology in order to identify not only the quantitative, but also the qualitative composition of potential labor migrants. For example, what proportion of graduates planning to leave is the owner of red diplomas for excellent studies, patents for inventions, etc. These indicators will enrich the available empirical material and look deeper into the problem area.

Fig. 4. If you are going to leave for another region, where will you go?

          Under the influence of information and technological progress, the structural transformation of the economy is taking place in many regions of the world. Significant changes are taking place in various sectors of the national economy. For example, the banking sector is going through a stage of large-scale layoffs of employees caused by the introduction of artificial intelligence. The same processes are observed in industry, the service sector and many other sectors of the economy. These processes, naturally, cause concern among young people about their work prospects. Young people, to a greater extent, tend to associate their working future with those sectors of the economy that are actively developing at the present time or promising in the future.

According to respondents, agriculture and construction are currently actively developing in Kabardino-Balkaria (59%, 50%) (Fig. 5). However, respondents believe that for successful socio-economic development it is necessary to develop other sectors of the economy: the IT industry and tourism (50%, 47%) (6). Taking into account the republic's last places in the ratings of socio-economic development ^[20], it is obvious that agriculture and construction are not able to provide significant economic growth.

Fig. 5. Which sectors of the economy of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, in your opinion, are currently developing most successfully? (no more than 3 answers)

Fig. 6. Which sectors of the economy, in your opinion, need to be developed for successful socio-economic development? (no more than 3 answers)

IT graduates believe that the prospects for economic growth are primarily associated with the IT industry (59.4%) and to a lesser extent with industry (45.5%). Graduates of socio-humanitarian and agricultural areas of training, successful socio-economic development, primarily associated with tourism (43.7%, 71%). They consider the IT industry to be the next most promising sector of the economy (42.2%, 50%) (Table 3). In general, respondents agree that the successful socio-economic development of the republic is connected with the IT industry and tourism.

Table 3

What sectors of the economy, in your opinion, should be developed in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic for successful socio-economic development? (no more than 3 answers)

Conclusion. The conducted research revealed that the work attitudes of graduate students in certain areas of higher (universities) and secondary specialized (colleges) educational institutions of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic quite often do not meet the challenges of the time. Modern information and technological progress puts the younger generation in front of the need for a detailed study of the prospects of the labor market, before entering an educational institution (university, secondary school). In addition, the future young specialist should be ready for the process of continuous professional development throughout his working career and, possibly, retraining for another, more in-demand profession. The identified systemic problems in career guidance work will negatively affect the process of personnel training for the labor market of Kabardino-Balkaria.

Most of the graduate students of the universities of the republic are already working, but only a small part of the respondents work in their specialty, which can negatively affect the quality of specialist training. The survey showed that 28% of respondents plan to go to work in other regions, another 26% found it difficult to answer. These results demonstrate that the labor market of Kabardino-Balkaria can potentially lose significant labor resources. Also, according to respondents, currently such sectors of the economy as agriculture and construction are actively developing in the republic (59%, 50%) (Fig. 5). At the same time, respondents believe that for successful socio-economic development it is necessary to develop other sectors of the economy – the IT industry and tourism (50%, 47%) (fig. 6).

The problem areas of the Kabardino-Balkaria labor market identified during the study can cast doubt on the achievement of sustainable socio-economic development of the republic. The relevant ministries and departments should take into account that the solution of the identified problems, potentially capable of leading to an increase in social discontent of citizens, is especially relevant in the conditions of modern geopolitical upheavals.