Abstract
The article reveals the problems that rest on the choice of profession of school graduates, the transition of young people from study to work, the difficulty with professional orientation, and, as a result, high unemployment in the labor market. The listed problems cover almost many countries of the world. Among the reasons for such a negative growth, the authors of the publication explain, first of all, changes in the functioning of the educational system, which can eventually lead to socio-economic risks and social inequality. The other side of the above-mentioned problem noted that the existing educational practice in many ways does not provide the order of the state and society for the formation of a graduate of urban and rural schools as a subject of socio-professional self-determination. The reasons rest on the following factors: - a low level of career guidance interaction between educational organizations of different levels, which generates the substitution of practice-oriented forms of professional orientation with psychological diagnostics and counseling; - the use of outdated inefficient approaches without taking into account modern information technologies and more. The purpose of the presented research is to identify, in the regional context, the transformation of professional preferences of high school students in urban and rural schools as a strategy for future employment. As a result of the survey conducted by the authors among school graduates, conclusions and proposals were formulated to optimize preparatory and organizational work among high school students to improve the methodology of career guidance activities. These proposals formed the basis for the developed sociological survey program and documents for school administrations in order to conduct annual monitoring to identify students' professional preferences, taking into account new trends in the employment market. Key words: education, schools, professional training of graduates, professional preferences of schoolchildren, state educational grants, regions.