Potential mobility of school graduates in small and average cities in the Sverdlovsk region

Abstract

The increased flow of the “non-return” migration may cause serious problems in small and average cities. To assess the scale of the problems a study was carried out in three cities of the Sverdlovsk oblast (region) – Revda, Krasnotur`insk and Nizhniy Tagil involving 740 school graduates (secondary school students of 8 – 11 classes). The author used the data of the Russian Public Opinion Center, the Public Opinion Foundation, the Russian Statistics Service and a sociological survey conducted by the State Employment Agency of the Labor Department of the Sverdlovsk region. The author provides a comparative analysis of the results of the survey among school graduates, adult Russians and the needs of the labor market. The reasons behind the desire/refusal to return to the home city upon the completion of the studies are considered in the article. According to the findings of the study, school graduates of small and average cities are mainly non-return migrants; they are driven by their desire to live in a bigger city and the lack of the opportunities in their home city. The most attractive mobility track they choose is from school to the university even if it does not meet the current local labor market needs