Perception of state policy in the sphere of youth employment in the context of graduates’ precarization

Abstract

Objective: to assess the students and graduates’ perception of the state policy aimed at supporting young professionals in the labor market.Methods: qualitative methods were used to analyze labor market institutions, in-depth interviews were conducted, and interpretative analysis of actors’ discourses was made.Results: the authors’ conceptual conclusions make it possible to characterize the unstable position of university graduates in the structure of precariat in the Russian labor market. Two types of reasons are considered that determine whether university graduates are included in the precariat within the framework of the “work experience - education” dichotomy. The article analyzes the features of the Russian labor market and the proposed state policy measures to transform traditional forms of employment using the achievements of digitalization. In-depth interviews were conducted with students and graduates of the Southern Federal University to assess their perception of the state policy and attitude to unstable employment.Scientific novelty: to understand the place and role of precariat in the structure of employment, it is necessary to consider such characteristics, in addition to instability, as the level of education and the level of skills acquired.Practical significance: the identified social values and employment characteristics of Russian university graduates can be used to develop recommendations for improving the system for monitoring the level of labor precarization in regional labor markets.

Keywords

• economics and national economy management
• higher education
• university graduates
• precariat
• state policy in the labor market
• digitalization