Introduction. Professional development of students in the vocational education and training (VET) system involves not only the acquisition of relevant competencies but also the formation of a value-based attitude toward work. However, empirical evidence on the actual place of labour value in the hierarchy of young people’s value orientations remains limited, making the development of educational strategies largely speculative.
Aim. The study aims to identify the place of labour value within the structure of VET students’ value orientations and to determine the problematic areas of their professional development based on empirical data.
Methods. The study employed a descriptive cross-sectional design based on data from an online survey of college students in the Sverdlovsk Region (N = 3,108). The questionnaire included items on values, life goals, and barriers to self-realization. Frequency analysis and Z-tests for comparing proportions across groups differentiated by gender, age, and type of settlement were applied.
Results. The value of productive work occupies a peripheral position in the hierarchy of students’ value orientations. A contradiction was identified: despite a pronounced orientation toward pursuing a “favorite occupation,” students demonstrated a weak aspiration to make a “professional contribution,” indicating an instrumental attitude toward their profession. The main barriers to professional self-realization were uncertainty about how to apply one’s abilities and a perceived lack of demand for one’s potential. Scientific novelty. Using a representative sample of VET students from the Sverdlovsk Region (n = 3,108), the study provides the first empirical evidence of the peripheral position of labour value within the system of youth value orientations and confirms differences in professional attitudes according to gender, age, and type of settlement.
Practical significance. The findings may serve as an empirical basis for the development and scholarly substantiation of a pedagogical strategy for professional upbringing in the VET system grounded in a social partnership approach.