In the context of a transforming labor market and high uncertainty, the professional self-determination of school students is gaining strategic importance. The purpose of this study is to analyze the level of professional self-determination among students in grades 8–11 in the North Kazakhstan region, as well as to identify key barriers and preferences in the field of career guidance. A total of 117 students were surveyed using a questionnaire, and the collected data were processed using descriptive statistics and content analysis. The results show that more than half of the respondents have not yet made a professional choice, experience internal barriers, and lack sufficient information and support from their schools. A high interest was revealed in game-based, mixed, and individualized formats of career guidance support. This highlights the need to implement interactive and motivational approaches, including board games as a tool for diagnostics, reflection, and the development of meta-competencies. The practical significance of the study lies in the potential application of the findings to develop regionally adapted career guidance solutions for rural schools and migration-vulnerable areas.

Covert investigative actions, investigative actions, operational-search measures, operational-search activity, theory, practice, innovations, digitalization, crime