Public Education Policy and Youth Precariat

Abstract

The study analyzes precarization in the context of state educational policy and university graduates' employment. The literature review was prepared by the PRISMA method (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses). The data of the three focus groups formed an empirical basis for identifying and analyzing institutional factors related to public education policy. The hypothesis that higher education programs do not meet the needs of the modern labor market has been confirmed, which leads to unstable employment of graduates. The reasons for unstable youth employment are related to the gap between the educational and economic policies: inflated expectations, lack of personal initiative, heterogeneity in the quality of higher education, the particularities of industries and professions, as well as the specificities of the Russian labor market. There are mechanisms to overcome negative effects and adapt to technological, institutional, and economic changes. These mechanisms include developing a state system for supporting young specialists, improving the institutions of information interaction between universities, businesses, and graduates, creating horizontal networks of graduates to promote their interests in the labor market.