Introduction. In the context of the renewal of national projects and a shortage of personnel, the issue of the professional future of ninth-grade graduates who have not received an education certificate is becoming particularly significant. The absence of this document deprives them of the opportunity both to continue their studies, including vocational training, and to find promising employment. This situation calls for scholarly reflection and the search for solutions to support the professional development of this specific group of adolescents.
Aim. The aim of the study is to assess the current state of the problem concerning school graduates who do not possess a certificate of basic general education and to identify possible directions for their professional and educational trajectories.
Methods. In the course of the study, statistical data on the results of the State Final Examination (GIA) in 2024 across several Russian regions were analysed, along with the outcomes of the pilot project “Without a Certificate, but with a Profession.”
Results. The pedagogical problem associated with the uncertainty of the possibilities of continuing education (including professional education) for school graduates without a certificate of basic general education is highlighted. The necessity of theoretical and methodological substantiation of approaches to the study of the possibilities of solving this problem and the creation of organizational and pedagogical conditions in the education system for preparing adolescents not only for the profession, but also for life in society, taking into account the experience of the Sverdlovsk region in organizing vocational training for this category of adolescents, is noted.
Scientific novelty. The necessity of recognising ninth-grade graduates who have not received a certificate of basic general education as a distinct vulnerable group of adolescents—excluded from the education system and lacking a defined professional trajectory—has been substantiated. For the first time, attention is drawn to the development of organisational and pedagogical conditions that would facilitate the continuation of their educational and professional development.
Practical significance. The experience of the Sverdlovsk region in the implementation of the pilot project “Without a certificate, but with a profession” presented here may be applied in the development of regional and federal vocational training programs for school graduates who have not received a certificate of basic general education.