Economical Socialization and Employment of Youth in Republic of Kazakhstan

by Dr. Alexander Teslenko, the Head of Social &
Humanitarian Science, Institute of Management,
Astana, Kazakhstan

During the last 10 years modern Kazakhstan society has been in condition of systematic and structural transformation, a change of social standards and economic life. These changes are reflected upon all social classes. The most vulnerable groups of population, deprived of stable status and relevant economical resources, legal and corporate support find themselves in the most difficult situation. A part of Kazakhstan should be referred to vulnerable groups.

Initial theoretical and methodological grounds of this project occur from characteristics and specifics of inclusion of different groups of youth in various social and economic processes, which now cannot be considered adequately out of the analysis of differences in everyday conditions of up-growing and socialization. New types of economic relations and social differentiation in Kazakhstan society actualize social order for systematization and revalue of theoretical and methodological approaches toward different interpretations of the youth’s status on labor market. Sociological analysis of East/West European theoretical and methodological approaches to the problem of youth economic socialization, to my mind, help to overcome, its simplified understanding and form a rather comprehensive idea about variety of youth’s self-identification, socio-cultural and economical practices in Kazakhstan.

Having started this research I proceed basing on the hypotheses that youth’s economic socialization as a process of its accession in the society will be successful , if the society provides for adequate conditions for self-organization and self-actualization of young person on the base of recognition by them of revocable priority of a personality as a subject of social relations; here it will create structures ensuring openness and adaptability of the society to a personality given the global civilization processes and new economic condition in Kazakhstan. All these will permit holding in the focus of socio-cultural interest the most mobile and innovative social group – the youth.

Today a significant stock of theoretical knowledge has been accumulated in the scientific literature characterizing the essence of the youth socialization. At the same time, the bibliographic analysis of numerous concepts of socialization shows that there is no common whole theory of socialization; among variety of approaches, tendencies and scientific schools there can be distinguished a range of fundamental concepts of a personality socialization. Youth as a carrier of certain psychological and social features is represented in works of S. Hall, H. Shelsky, F. Race est., however the problem of young generation social-economic status has been somewhere out of scientific focus.

Analysis of modern models of employment and international experience of implementation of social program of youth integration to labor market shows that one of the main problems of the state with market economy became a search of rational ratio between financial support, economic measures regulating population employment, and creation of condition fostering formation of the sense of social and personal responsibility of young people. Radical changes of social and professional areas have changed the conditions of social adaptation and economic behavior of the youth. Modern social practices note a low adaptability of the system of youth professional training, often it is connecting it with the absence of modern labor market’ tendency which are not taken into consideration.

Systematization and summary of results of the sociological study has identificated that the adequate theoretical and methodological approaches for the analysis of a changed character of youth economic practice in the field of employment aren’t formed. Nowadays fragmental character of researches in the Kazakhstan science, a gap between structural &functional and socio-cultural approaches to the youths problems in sociology, and absence of inter- disciplinary dialogue result in the situation when social theories are contradicting to economic realities of youth everyday life.

I suggest theoretical grounds of a new approach to the analysis of various phenomena of modern youths everyday practices in the field of employment and professional training inform the viewpoint of differences of their life-style strategies. I see the them as a lead direction of a personality and society, building-up the whole basis for life choices and decisions, a new type of socio-cultural and economic resources, and also determining significant imperatives of the social policy of the state.

Concept of labor force market functioning has passed the way of evolutionary development and is characterized by a diversity of methodological approaches, the major role among which for a long time has been played and keeps on playing the economic analysis. To my mind, economic socialization as a process of interaction of a human being with the social and economic environment resulting in formation of qualities of a personality as a real subject of economical relations, is his inclusion in the public reproduction and satisfaction of needs – is the major factor of economic development.

Inclusion of the youth in market and labor relations, in my opinion, closely connected with a problem of their labor orientation, with determination of their priorities, needs, life strategies, wishes and possibilities. Here, it is evidently mistaken point about direct conditionality of the pressing problems of youth employment with the absence of any vacant labor places. If this is true, the can be solved rather simply — to retire some employees providing them with beneficial pensions, quoting some work places for young people and introducing similar measures by the labor placement services will allow ensure a part of work places for young specialists. However, in this case we do not take into consideration that dominating most of work places in industry and agriculture do not meet the needs of modern youth. Thus, the problem is not only in quantity of vacant places — situation when available the youth professional potential does not meet a demand may be partially explained by low competitiveness of the youth on labor market.