STUDENTS’ ADAPTATION TO THE LABOUR MARKET AS A PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEM OF MODERN HIGHER EDUCATION

Abstract

The article theoretically substantiates students’ adaptation to the labour market as a relevant psychological issue in modern higher education. The aim of the article is to clarify the psychological content of students’ adaptation to the labour market and to identify its main structural components and psychological factors. It is shown that the transition of higher education students from learning activities to professional self-realisation cannot be reduced merely to employment. Rather, it involves a complex internal transformation of professional perceptions, expectations, motivation, self-regulation strategies and behavioural patterns. The relevance of the study is determined by the transformation of the modern labour market, increasing requirements for young specialists, the need to develop career mobility, as well as the impact of martial law in Ukraine on students’ professional plans, sense of certainty about the future and psychological readiness for professional entry. It is substantiated that under conditions of socio-economic instability, students’ adaptation to the labour market should be considered not only as an organisational or socio-economic task, but as a multidimensional psychological process related to professional self-determination, the formation of career readiness, the development of career adaptability, self-efficacy, reflexivity, self-regulation and the ability to make career decisions under conditions of uncertainty. Based on the synthesis of contemporary psychological and psycho-pedagogical approaches, the article proposes an authorial systematisation of the psychological components of students’ adaptation to the labour market. These include motivational and value-based, cognitive, emotional-volitional, reflexive, behavioural, social-communicative and career-adaptive components. It is argued that the coordinated development of these components ensures students’ gradual transition from an educational role to active professional agency. The article emphasises the role of higher education institutions as environments of psychological and career support that contribute to the formation of realistic career expectations, readiness for professional mobility, self-presentation and constructive responses to labour market challenges. The practical significance of the article lies in the possibility of using its findings for the development of psychological support programmes for students’ professional self-determination, career readiness training and the improvement of university career centres.