Stimulation of the professional choice among senior students of residential institutions (orphanages)

According to the data of 2017 there are about 482 thousand orphans and children left without parental care in the Russian Federation. 17% of them (82 thousand people) are in residential institutions, which create conditions for their maintenance, upbringing and education. Nevertheless, senior students of residential institutions experience serious difficulties in vocational education obtaining and employment. The need for participation in vocational guidance work with students of residential institutions from the side of higher education institutions and potential employers is rather high. This situation determines the need to stimulate the professional choice among senior students of the residential institutions through the development of a comprehensive program, including the organization of interaction between educational organizations and employers. In order to analyze the issue of vocational guidance and socialization of graduates of Moscow residential institutions, a focus group was formed from the representatives of the administration of ten orphanages. Diagnosis of the readiness of senior students from residential institutions for professional choice was carried out by means of a survey of 32 inmates of the centers of family assistance (State budget institution the Center of family assistance "Sputnik", State budget institution the Center of family assistance "Vozrozhdenie", State official institution the Center of family assistance "Kuntsevsky"). Also, a survey of potential employers for inmates of residential institutions was conducted, including the list of eleven companies representing the following sectors: industry, trade, services, transport and logistics, information technology, banking. The data obtained showed that the majority of adolescents are not ready to choose a profession and an institution for vocational education because of the fact that they do not think about this choice and are not aware of their inclinations and abilities, these senior students do not know what is required to make a professional choice. Potential employers expressed their readiness to participate in stimulating the professional choice of residential institution graduates, but they do not have the entire information and do not know how to realize it effectively. Based on the results of the initial analysis, a comprehensive program was developed, including the organization of interaction and cooperation among employers, as well as field trips to the company, a series of educational events in various formats, sessions of career cabinets, that resulted in each student receiving an individual trajectory of admission to a vocational education institution and entry plan to the profession they have chosen. After these events, a repeated diagnosis was made on the readiness of senior students for professional choice, which showed that the majority of adolescents (26 out of 32) expressed their willingness to choose a profession and an institution for vocational education. The effectiveness of the developed program was proved experimentally. Based on the results of the study, the recommendations were developed on the organization of interaction between educational organizations and employers to stimulate the professional choice of senior students of residential institutions.