TECHNOLOGICAL HORIZONS AND ADAPTATION TO THE LABOR MARKET AMONG GRADUATES OF PROFESSIONAL EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

Abstract

The article examines a current problem of influence of information and communication technologies (ICT) on the adaptation of graduates of professional educational organizations to the modern labor market. Two new concepts are used: “person’s technological horizons” (attitude to modern digital technologies and the use of their specific varieties in work activities) and “occupation insecurity” (the likelihood of a profession disappearing or undergoing a significant transformation under the influence of new technologies of automation, robotics, and the use of artificial intelligence). Based on a sample of 239 people (age from 20 to 26 years), statistically significant connections are established between elements of the graduates’ technological purview and signs of their psychological well-being in the professional and labor sphere, which are interpreted as indicators of adaptation. The obtained results are important for preparing graduates for the new situation in the labor market, which requires active use of ICT; the results suggest ways to reduce technologically conditioned anxious expectations, perceived barriers to career development and the insecurity of their position in organizations.