Influence of relevant factors on plans of young people in rural areas

Depopulation of rural areas call into question their development, but also their very survival. With the departure of mostly young people, rural areas are left without knowledge and entrepreneurial initiative, which is a prerequisite for development. The aim of this paper is to find out attitudes of rural youth about life in the countryside, their plans, as well as to identify factors that influence their plans. Quantitative method was used in the research, ie. a semi-structured questionnaire was conducted. Primary data were collected from a sample of final grade pupils from 17 middle schools in rural areas of AP Vojvodina. According to the results, rural youth are very interested in studying, as well as working while studying, which means that young people go to cities to obtain higher education. Main interests of rural youth are medicine, economics and business, law and information and communication technologies. There is relatively little interest in agricultural studies. Important factors in choosing a profession are employment opportunities and a good salary. Advice of parents, brothers and sisters, and to a lesser extent friends and acquaintances, had a moderate influence on young people when making plans. Most rural youth rated the opportunities in their environment relatively low, which encourages their migration. This means that after finishing middle school, they stay in Serbia and move to the city, which is mainly influenced by business opportunities, the existence of an apartment in the city and education. In perspective of 15 years, a relatively large part of young people see themselves in their current place of residence and in the city of Novi Sad, but the share of those who see themselves in the countryside is also significant, if there are appropriate opportunities. The most important thing for rural youth is availability of work, facilities for young people and opportunities for free time