LABOUR VALUES AND SKILLS OF THE FUTURE: MODERN YOUNG PEOPLE’S VIEWS ON CAREER AND PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY

In today’s rapidly changing world of work, associated with technological innovations and changes in the social structure, it is necessary and relevant to rethink the labour values and skills of the future. The novelty of this study lies in the fact that it explores contemporary young people’s views on career and professional life, considering the influences of digitalisation, work flexibility and sustainability. The study focuses on how young people adapt to new environments and what values they attach to their occupational aspirations. The aim of this study is to analyse the work values and skills that young people believe will be relevant in the future. It was identified how the younger generation perceives the importance of work, the balance between professional and personal life, and what specific skills they think will be in demand in the future. The study aims to provide recommendations for educational and vocational institutions so that they can better prepare the younger generation for the challenges of the future. The relevance of this topic is connected with the need for a deep understanding of changes in the needs and expectations of the young generation in the labour market. The article presents the results of practical analysis of values and plans for the future of students of higher education institutions. It is determined that, according to the surveyed students, the effective skills for employment are soft skills: communication skills, critical thinking and the ability to work in a team. Young people are actively embracing artificial intelligence in their working life and are willing to use it. Remote work, flexible working hours and willingness to combine several jobs or work simultaneously on several projects are all visions of future professional fulfilment for young people. It has been revealed that young people are equally in need of developing both ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ competences, as additional skills they would like to acquire in the near future to increase their competitiveness in the labour market.