Professional loyalty and social mobility of young professionals

Abstract

Introduction. Professional education in the modern information society acquires new meanings and value orientations. This is explained by the fact that increasing investment in human potential and ensuring due quality of education create a serious foundation for the formation of social mobility. At the same time, its connection with professional loyalty requires a separate conceptualisation and creation of a necessary empirical basis for assessing the economic resource and corporate responsibility and ensuring proper investments in human resource development. The purpose of the study is to reveal the main characteristics of young specialists’ professional loyalty with regard to ensuring their effective inclusion in the system of social and labour relations. Materials and methods. The online survey involved young (under the age of 35) teachers of pedagogical universities of some CIS countries (Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan). The all-Russian sample covered in total 1,295 respondents. The analysis of empirical data was based on the methods of descriptive statistics and systematisation of data on young teachers’ ambitions in terms of professional prospects. Results. The findings of the survey point to the acceptable conditions for professional growth, as viewed by many young teachers (64%). The young people’s satisfaction with their labour activity was 73%. The probability of young teachers’ voluntary dismissal decreases with their increased length of service at universities. The share of young teachers intending to link their professional activity with the university in the next 3-5 years was 73%. Conclusion. Young specialists’ professional loyalty directly conditions their success in their profile labour activities. Young specialists who develop the necessary positive attitudes and competencies in the process of their education will in most cases be more flexible at the workplace and have a higher social mobility level. In this regard, investments in professional education can be justified if young professionals have a necessary mobility potential allowing them to successfully adapt to the labour market.