Marina A. Maznichenko

Early career guidance – helping a child in pre-professional self-determination, choosing a suitable type of work, taking into account his needs and capabilities – is an essential condition for training professional personnel capable of ensuring Russia’s global competitiveness. It is necessary to start early career guidance from kindergarten, since it is during preschool childhood that a child develops an attitude towards work, professions, and a model of work activity. Early career guidance is included in the educational program of the preschool educational institution (area “Social and Communicative Development”) as an integral part of the full development of the individual. However, in the mass practice of kindergartens, early career guidance most often comes down to acquainting children with professions and types of work and the formation of a value attitude to work and representatives of professions. At the same time, children are not included in real professional activities, they can’t try themselves in different professions. This article proposes a means of strengthening the practical orientation of early career guidance of preschool children – including them in trial professional activities in specially equipped centers of professional tests based on the kindergarten and its social partners. The authors analyzed the available scientific research, innovative projects and programs for early career guidance implemented by kindergartens. The experience of organizing professional mini-tests for preschoolers, available in the kindergarten of the Chegdomyn village, was studied. The ways of developing this experience are shown through the creation of centers for professional tests based on kindergartens and its social partners, equipped with modern professional realities and safety requirements of preschoolers, and organizing children’s trial professional activities in them during regime moments as part of the “Professional Navigator” program (component variable part of the main educational program of preschool education). The article reveals the conditions for the inclusion of preschool children in trial professional activity.